What does 半 mean in Chinese?

半 (bàn) means "half" in Chinese. The new HSK exam expects you to recognise it at HSK 1.

How do you write 半?

半 is written with 5 strokes, starting from the 十 (ten) radical and following standard Chinese stroke order (top to bottom, left to right). See the interactive stroke-order tool for the full animation.

What is the radical of 半?

The radical of 半 is 十 (ten, Kangxi radical #24). Other common HSK characters using the same radical include 午, 十, 千.

How many strokes does 半 have?

The Chinese character 半 has 5 strokes.

What HSK level is 半?

On the new HSK exam syllabus, 半 is a character to recognise at HSK 1 and to write by hand at HSK 2 (the handwriting list HSK 1 and 2 share).

半 (bàn): Meaning, Stroke Order, Radical & Examples

半

bàn

half

HSK 1 character 5 strokes Radical: 十 (ten)

Quick Answer

半 (bàn) means "half" with 5 strokes, radical 十 (ten), HSK 1 on the new exam.

Full dictionary entry for 半 →Animated stroke-order for 半 →

Pronunciation

bàn

Meaning

Primary: half

Etymology

Oracle-bone origin

半 is not attested in oracle bone script but appears in bronze inscriptions as a compound of 八 (to divide, split) on top and 牛 (ox) below. The image is of an ox being divided in two, a direct representation of halving a large thing.

Form evolution

Bronze forms show 八 clearly splayed above a recognisable 牛. Seal script (篆书) regularised both components, and clerical script (隶书) flattened the top splay into two short slanting strokes while the 牛 below lost its curved horns. Modern 楷书 keeps this structure but the bottom element no longer looks like an independent 牛.

How the meaning evolved

The original concrete sense of cutting an ox in half generalised quickly to mean half of anything, then to partial or incomplete states. Modern uses like 一半 (one half), 半天 (half a day, or a long while), and 半夜 (midnight) all descend from this core idea.

Cultural note

The idiom 半途而废 (to give up halfway) preserves the sense of partiality, and learners often misread the bottom component as 羊 (sheep) or 平 because the 牛 has been visually absorbed into the character.

Mnemonic

Two halves divided by ten — half

Decomposition

半=丷component+十radical

Breaking a character into its components makes it far easier to recall. Each component above links to its own detail page.

Basic info

Pinyin	bàn
Meanings	half
Stroke count	5 strokes
Radical	十 (#24: ten)
New HSK exam	Recognise at HSK 1, write by hand at HSK 1-2
Frequency	#609 most common

Example sentences

我吃了半个苹果。
Wǒ chī le bàn gè píngguǒ.
I ate half an apple.
From 半 (HSK 1)
他多半不会来了。
Tā duōbàn bù huì lái le.
He most likely won't come.
From 多半 (HSK 7-9)
做事不能半途而废。
Zuòshì bùnéng bàntú'érfèi.
You can't give up halfway through tasks.
From 半途而废 (HSK 7-9)