How to Say “Half an hour” in Chinese
Time and dates · HSK 2
"Half an hour" in Chinese is 半个小时 (bàn ge xiǎo shí). You'll hear two forms: 半个小时 in casual speech (with the measure word 个) and 半小时 in news, signs, and written contexts. Both are correct.
Primary translation
半个小时
bàn ge xiǎo shí
Traditional: 半個小時
Variants by register
Formal
半小时
bàn xiǎo shí
When to use it
You'll hear two forms: 半个小时 in casual speech (with the measure word 个) and 半小时 in news, signs, and written contexts. Both are correct. A trap for learners: don't say 一半小时; 半 already means half, so 一半 (yí bàn) means 'one half' of something as a noun, not 'half an hour.' Also note 钟头 (zhōng tóu) is an older, more northern word for hour; 半个钟头 sounds natural from a Beijing taxi driver but bookish from a Shanghai office worker.
Example sentences
再等半个小时就好了。
Zài děng bàn ge xiǎo shí jiù hǎo le.
Just wait another half hour and it'll be ready.
从这里走路半小时。
Cóng zhè lǐ zǒu lù bàn xiǎo shí.
It's a half-hour walk from here.
我迟到了半个小时，对不起。
Wǒ chí dào le bàn ge xiǎo shí, duì bu qǐ.
I'm half an hour late, sorry.