Talking about halves in Chinese

Most people learning Chinese get a bit confused with the words 半 (bàn), 一半 (yí bàn) and 一个半 (yí ge bàn). They're all used for talking about halves in one way or another, but the difference between them can be tricky.

许多中文学习者对"半"、"一半"和"一个半"这几个词有点困惑。它们都是以某种方式描述"半数"的意思，但两者之间有着微妙的区别。

None of the words we're explaining here are actually very hard to use. The problem is that they're similar, and you get mixed up.

我们在本文解释的这几个词实际上都很难运用，问题在于它们很相似，你会混淆。

半 (bàn): half of

To talk about "half of something", the structure is:

表达"half of something"的话，结构如下：

半 + [measure word] + [noun]

It's as simple as that. Most often the measure word is the generic 个 (ge), but any measure word can be used in that slot. Let's have a look at some examples for this structure:

就这么简单。大部分情况用到的量词都是"个"这一类的，但还有其它量词。一起看看此类结构的一些例子：

半个小时

bàn ge xiǎoshí

half an hour

半个三明治

bàn ge sānmíngzhì

half a sandwhich

半碗饭

bàn wǎn fàn

half a bowl of rice

半条鱼

bàn tiáo yú

half a fish

Notice how in English you could say "half of" in all those situations, but usually you just drop the word "of". However, it might be helpful to try and remember the Chinese 半个 as meaning "half of".

注意，英语里你可以在所有这些情况下说"half of"，不过通常你得舍去"of"。但是，对于试着记住中文里"半个"的意思是"half of"也是有所帮助的。

Let's have a look at some full example sentences for this structure:

一起看看此类结构的一些完整例句：

我吃了半个苹果。

wǒ chīle bàn ge píngguǒ.

I ate half an apple.

我只要半张纸。

wǒ zhǐyào bàn zhāng zhǐ.

I only want half a sheet of paper.

我们花了半个小时做作业。

wǒmen huāle bàn ge xiǎoshí zuò zuo yè.

We spent half an hour doing the homework.

Notice the 半 + measure word structure in each of the sentences above. If a measure word comes after 半, then it means "half of" or "half a". That makes it different to the other two words described below.

注意以上每个句子里"半+量词"的结构。如果量词放于"半"之后，那么它的意思就是"half of"或"half a"。这就区别于下面说到的另外两个词了。

一半 (yí bàn): a half

一半 is used without a measure word at all. Always remember that you can't put a measure word before or after 一半. There isn't a general structure for using 一半, because it's more of a standalone word meaning "a half" or "one half". Let's have a look at some example sentences for 一半:

"一半"无需跟上量词就可单独使用。需要记住的是，你不用在"一半"之前或之后使用量词。使用"一半"并没有一般结构，因为它更像是一个意为"a half"或"one half"的独立词。一起看看"一半"的例句：

我们已经喝了一半了。

wǒmen yǐjīng hēle yībànle.

We've already drunk half of it.

我吃饭吃了一半就不想吃了。

wǒ chīfàn chīle yībàn jiù bùxiǎng chīle.

I'd eaten half the meal, and then I just didn't want any more.

他总是把薪水的一半存入银行。

tā zǒngshì bǎ xīnshuǐ de yībàn cún rù yínháng.

He always puts one half of his salary in the bank.

一个半 (yí ge bàn): one and a half

Finally, we come to 一个半 which means one and a half. The structure for this is:

最后，我们要说到"一个半"，意思是"one and a half"。这类结构是：

一个半 + [noun]

You could think of 一个半 as being like 一个 (one) plus 半 (half). Also notice that it contains a measure word, so you don't add any more measure words to this structure! The 个 shown here can of course be replaced with any appropriate measure word.

你可以将"一个半"视为"一个"加上"半"。同时也注意它包含着一个量词，因此你不能在这类结构里再跟上其它任何量词。这里用到的"个"当然可以替换为其它任何合适的量词。

Let's have a look at some example sentences for 一个半:

一起看看"一个半"结构的几个例句：

这个产品很受欢迎 – 我们已经卖了一盒半了！

zhège chǎnpǐn hěn shòu huānyíng- wǒmen yǐjīng màile yī hé bànle!

This product is very popular – we've already sold a box and a half!

我拿了一张半纸。

wǒ nále yī zhāng bàn zhǐ.

I got one and a half sheets of paper.

我们花了一个半钟头才做完。

wǒmen huāle yīgè bàn zhōngtóu cái zuò wán.

We spent an hour and a half getting it done.

最大的鹰的翅膀展开长达一米半。

zuìdà de yīng de chìbǎng zhǎnkāi zhǎng dá yī mǐ bàn.

The largest eagles have a wingspan of one and a half meters.

The difference between the three

半

"half of" or "half a"

半 + [measure word] + [noun]

一半

"a half" or "one half"

a standalone word

一个半

"one and a half"

一 + [measure word] + 半

Translated from: chineseboost

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