Difference between revisions of "Expressing "half" with "ban""
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* 三 <strong>个</strong> <em>半</em> 小时 <span class="pinyin">sān <strong>gè</strong> <em>bàn</em> xiǎoshí</span><span class="trans">three hours and a half</span> | * 三 <strong>个</strong> <em>半</em> 小时 <span class="pinyin">sān <strong>gè</strong> <em>bàn</em> xiǎoshí</span><span class="trans">three hours and a half</span> | ||
* 两 <strong>个</strong> <em>半</em> 月 <span class="pinyin">liǎng <strong>gè</strong> <em>bàn</em> yuè</span><span class="trans">two and a half months</span> | * 两 <strong>个</strong> <em>半</em> 月 <span class="pinyin">liǎng <strong>gè</strong> <em>bàn</em> yuè</span><span class="trans">two and a half months</span> | ||
− | * 一 <strong> | + | * 一 <strong>斤</strong> <em>半</em> 水果 <span class="pinyin">yī <strong>jīn</strong> <em>bàn</em> shuǐguǒ </span><span class="trans">one and a half fruits</span> |
− | * 一 <strong> | + | * 一 <strong>瓶</strong> <em>半</em> 白酒 <span class="pinyin">yī <strong>píng</strong> <em>bàn</em> báijiǔ </span><span class="trans">one and a half wine</span> |
− | * 四<strong> | + | * 四<strong>块</strong> <em>半</em> 巧克力 <span class="pinyin">sì <strong> kuài</strong> <em>bàn</em> qiǎokèlì </span><span class="trans">four and a half pieces of chocolate</span> |
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Revision as of 10:03, 2 November 2015
半 (bàn) means "half." That's simple enough, but what can get slightly tricky is the rules for how it combines with measure words. We explain all those here.
Contents
Standard Usage
Used alone
Structure
半 + Measure Word + Noun
Examples
The measure words are also indicated below.
- 半 个 小时 half an hour
- 半 个 月 half a month
- 半 碗 米饭 half a bowl of rice
- 半 瓶 酒 half a bottle of liquor
- 半 份 炒面 half a serving of chow mein
With a Number
When it's more than just a half, then 半 (bàn) comes after the measure word instead of before. It's the difference between "half an hour" and "an hour and a half." The order is actually basically the same as what we do in English (we just don't have so many pesky measure words to keep track of in English!).
Structure
Number + Measure Word + 半 + Noun
Examples
- 三 个 半 小时 three hours and a half
- 两 个 半 月 two and a half months
- 一 斤 半 水果 one and a half fruits
- 一 瓶 半 白酒 one and a half wine
- 四块 半 巧克力 four and a half pieces of chocolate
Notable Exceptions
There are some words that act as their own measure words, notably the time words 天 (tiān), meaning "day," and 年 (nián), meaning "year."
Used alone
Structure
半 + 天/年
Examples
- 半 天half a day
- 半 年half a year
Note that you do not need to use 个 (ge) here; in fact, it's wrong to do so:
- 半 个 天 half a day
- 半 个 年 half a year
With a Number
Structure
Number + 天/年 + 半
Examples
- 两 天 半 two and a half days
- 一 年 半 a year and a half
- 三 天 半 three and a half days
- 四 年 半 four and a half years