Expressing "half" with "ban"

The Chinese word 半 (bàn) means "half." That's simple enough, but what can get slightly tricky is the rules for how it combines with measure words.

Standard Usage

Used alone

Structure

半 + Measure Word + Noun

Examples

The measure words are also indicated below.

• 半 个 小时 bàn gè xiǎoshíhalf an hour
• 半 个 月 bàn gè yuèhalf a month
• 半 碗 米饭 bàn wǎn mǐfànhalf a bowl of rice
• 半 瓶 酒 bàn píng jiǔhalf a bottle of liquor
• 半 份 炒面 bàn fèn chǎomiànhalf 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 sān gè bàn xiǎoshíthree and a half hours
• 两 个 半 月 liǎng gè bàn yuètwo and a half months
• 一 斤 半 水果 yī jīn bàn shuǐguǒ one and a half (kilograms) of fruit
• 一 瓶 半 白酒 yī píng bàn báijiǔ one and a half bottles of wine
• 四块 半 巧克力 sì kuài bàn qiǎokèlì 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 bàn tiān half a day
• 半 年 bàn niánhalf a year

Note that you do not need to use 个 (ge) here; in fact, it's wrong to do so:

• 半 个 天 bàn gè tiānhalf a day
• 半 个 年 bàn gè nián half a year

With a Number

天 (tiān) and 年 (nián) aren't the only words that take this alternate pattern, but they're the two key ones you need to learn first.

Structure

Number + 天 / 年 + 半

Examples

• 两 天 半 liǎng tiān bàntwo and a half days
• 一 年 半 yī nián bàna year and a half
• 三 天 半 sān tiān bànthree and a half days
• 四 年 半 sì nián bànfour and a half years

See also

• Structure of times