Half in Different Languages
Discover 'Half' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Half
Afrikaans die helfte | ||
Albanian gjysma | ||
Amharic ግማሽ | ||
Arabic نصف | ||
Armenian կեսը | ||
Assamese আধা | ||
Aymara chikata | ||
Azerbaijani yarım | ||
Bambara tilancɛ | ||
Basque erdia | ||
Belarusian палова | ||
Bengali অর্ধেক | ||
Bhojpuri आधा | ||
Bosnian pola | ||
Bulgarian половината | ||
Catalan la meitat | ||
Cebuano katunga | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 半 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 半 | ||
Corsican a mità | ||
Croatian pola | ||
Czech polovina | ||
Danish halvt | ||
Dhivehi ހުއްޓުމަކަށް އައުން | ||
Dogri अद्धा | ||
Dutch voor de helft | ||
English half | ||
Esperanto duono | ||
Estonian pool | ||
Ewe afa | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) kalahati | ||
Finnish puoli | ||
French moitié | ||
Frisian heal | ||
Galician a metade | ||
Georgian ნახევარი | ||
German halb | ||
Greek ήμισυ | ||
Guarani mbyte | ||
Gujarati અડધા | ||
Haitian Creole mwatye | ||
Hausa rabi | ||
Hawaiian hapalua | ||
Hebrew חֲצִי | ||
Hindi आधा | ||
Hmong ib nrab | ||
Hungarian fél | ||
Icelandic helmingur | ||
Igbo ọkara | ||
Ilocano gudua | ||
Indonesian setengah | ||
Irish leath | ||
Italian metà | ||
Japanese ハーフ | ||
Javanese separo | ||
Kannada ಅರ್ಧ | ||
Kazakh жартысы | ||
Khmer ពាក់កណ្តាល | ||
Kinyarwanda kimwe cya kabiri | ||
Konkani अर्द | ||
Korean 절반 | ||
Krio af-af | ||
Kurdish nîv | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) نیو | ||
Kyrgyz жарымы | ||
Lao ເຄິ່ງ ໜຶ່ງ | ||
Latin medium | ||
Latvian puse | ||
Lingala katikati | ||
Lithuanian pusė | ||
Luganda kitundu | ||
Luxembourgish halschent | ||
Macedonian половина | ||
Maithili आधा | ||
Malagasy antsasany | ||
Malay separuh | ||
Malayalam പകുതി | ||
Maltese nofs | ||
Maori hawhe | ||
Marathi अर्धा | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯇꯪꯈꯥꯏ | ||
Mizo chanve | ||
Mongolian хагас | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) တစ်ဝက် | ||
Nepali आधा | ||
Norwegian halv | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) theka | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଅଧା | ||
Oromo walakkaa | ||
Pashto نیم | ||
Persian نیم | ||
Polish pół | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) metade | ||
Punjabi ਅੱਧੇ | ||
Quechua chawpi | ||
Romanian jumătate | ||
Russian половина | ||
Samoan afa | ||
Sanskrit अर्ध | ||
Scots Gaelic leth | ||
Sepedi seripagare | ||
Serbian пола | ||
Sesotho halofo | ||
Shona hafu | ||
Sindhi اڌ | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) අඩක් | ||
Slovak polovica | ||
Slovenian pol | ||
Somali badh | ||
Spanish medio | ||
Sundanese satengah | ||
Swahili nusu | ||
Swedish halv | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) kalahati | ||
Tajik нисф | ||
Tamil பாதி | ||
Tatar ярты | ||
Telugu సగం | ||
Thai ครึ่ง | ||
Tigrinya ፍርቂ | ||
Tsonga hafu | ||
Turkish yarım | ||
Turkmen ýarysy | ||
Twi (Akan) fa | ||
Ukrainian наполовину | ||
Urdu نصف | ||
Uyghur يېرىمى | ||
Uzbek yarmi | ||
Vietnamese một nửa | ||
Welsh hanner | ||
Xhosa isiqingatha | ||
Yiddish העלפט | ||
Yoruba idaji | ||
Zulu uhhafu |
Etymology & Notes
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The Afrikaans word "die helfte" comes from the Middle Dutch word "helft", which also meant "side". This meaning is still preserved in the Afrikaans phrase "aan die helfte" ("on the side"). |
| Albanian | Gjysma is a word derived from Proto-Albanian *ghesmâ, meaning 'half, part, side' |
| Amharic | The word ግማሽ derives from the Ge'ez term ገመስ, which means 'to cut into two' or 'to divide into two equal parts'. |
| Arabic | The Arabic word "نصف" ("half") also derives from the verb "نصـف" which means to halve, divide, or separate into two. |
| Armenian | The word "կեսը" has Indo-European roots and is related to Latin "pars" ("part"), Persian "pārs" ("part"), and English "part". |
| Azerbaijani | "Yarım" sözcüğü Azericede "sevgilim" anlamına da gelir ve bu anlam Farsçadaki "yar (yarân)" yani "sevgili, âşık" ve mecazen "can yarısı" anlamlarından, köken olarak ise Hint-Avrupa dili kökünden |
| Basque | "Erdia" (half in Basque) comes from "artean" (between), which also relates to the Basque "arte" (door)" |
| Belarusian | Палова (half) derives from the Proto-Slavic *pol-, meaning 'floor' or 'half' |
| Bosnian | The word 'pola' in Bosnian can also mean 'gender'. |
| Bulgarian | While "половината" primarily means "half", it can also refer to any part of a whole that is not the majority. |
| Catalan | In Catalan, "la meitat" also refers to a "measure of wine, oil, grain, or any other commodity". |
| Cebuano | The word "katunga" is believed to have originated from the Malayo-Polynesian root word "dua" meaning "two". |
| Chinese (Simplified) | The character "半" can also mean "approximately" or "partly". |
| Chinese (Traditional) | The character '半' in Chinese is a combination of '止', meaning 'to stop or finish' and '反', meaning 'to return'. The character signifies that when we reach half a point, it’s time to stop, take a rest and then turn the way back. |
| Corsican | The Corsican word “a mità” also means “the middle” of something, like a road or a field. |
| Croatian | In Croatian, "pola" can also refer to a field or a part of the body. |
| Czech | The word "polovina" also means "better half" or "spouse" in Czech. |
| Danish | "Halvt" is the Danish word for "half" and its root "halv" is shared with the English word "heal" as in "to heal" or the German "heil" as in "heil". |
| Dutch | In 1988, a Dutch television program called "Voor de Helft" (English: "Halfway") was produced, referring to the half-hour length of the program. |
| Esperanto | Esperanto's word "duono" is thought to originate from the French moitié or Italian "duono", both denoting "half", and also has alternative definitions including "kind" or "species". |
| Estonian | The Estonian word "pool" also means "puddles", "pools" and "pools". |
| Finnish | The word "puoli" is likely derived from the Proto-Finnic word "*puolo" meaning "side" or "half". |
| French | The word "moitié" can also mean "wife" or "husband" in French, as it derives from the Latin word "medietas", meaning "middle" or "halfway point". |
| Frisian | The Frisian word "hiel" is cognate with the English "heal" and also means "to heal" in a medical sense. |
| Galician | In Galician, "a metade" also means "the wife". |
| German | The German word "halb" is cognate with the English "help" and originally denoted a group, hence its use to refer to a part of the whole. |
| Greek | The origin of the word Ήμισυ lies in the pre-Greek term "sem-," also found in the Latin word "semi." |
| Gujarati | The word "અડધા" in Gujarati, although meaning "half", can also be used to describe something that is approximately halfway complete or of the same amount. |
| Haitian Creole | In Haitian Creole, 'mwatye' also means 'side' or 'direction' in addition to 'half'. |
| Hausa | The Hausa word "rabi" can also be used to mean "a share" or "a part". |
| Hawaiian | Hapalua also refers to a type of Hawaiian fish trap. |
| Hebrew | The word "חֲצִי" (half) also means "an arrow" and "midnight" in Hebrew. |
| Hindi | Hindi word "आधा" has a Persian root, meaning "one". When combined with "एक" it forms "आधा" which now means half. |
| Hmong | The Hmong word "ib nrab" can also refer to "a half of something" in a general sense, and "middle" when used in the context of time. |
| Hungarian | The word "fél" can also mean "fear" or "side" in Hungarian. |
| Icelandic | The word 'helmingur', meaning 'half' in Icelandic, is also used to refer to a type of herring net, and is derived from the Old Icelandic word 'helmingr', meaning 'a small piece or portion'. |
| Igbo | Ọkara in Igbo is not just a number, but a term used in Igbo proverbs to refer to a situation or person that is incomplete or lacking. |
| Indonesian | "Setengah" is also the name of a type of traditional Indonesian puppet theater. |
| Irish | The Irish word "leath" derives from the Proto-Celtic "leti"," meaning "side". |
| Italian | "Metà" can also mean "goal" or "aim" in Italian, derived from the Latin "meta" meaning "turning point" on a racetrack. |
| Japanese | ハーフ (hāfu) is a loan word into Japanese from English, which is used as a slang word for someone who has dual citizenship, a mixed-race background or ethnicity, and sometimes to refer to half a cup or serving size. |
| Javanese | Separuh (half) is a Javanese word that also means "a side" or "a part". |
| Kannada | The word "ಅರ್ಧ" in Kannada is cognate with the Sanskrit word "अर्ध" and can also mean "a group of elephants". |
| Kazakh | The word "жартысы" also has the meaning of "side" in Kazakh. |
| Khmer | ពាក់កណ្តាល comes from 'to wear or put in front' and refers to a cover over only part of something like a scarf over shoulders. |
| Korean | The word 절반 originally meant 'a small portion' and was later used to mean 'half'. |
| Kurdish | The Kurdish word "nîv" also refers to a "piece" or a "section" of something. |
| Kyrgyz | "Жарымы" may mean "half" or "a half" in Kyrgyz. |
| Latin | "Medium" (half) originates from *medh*- (to measure) and thus also "moderate". |
| Latvian | The form “pus” is an irregular form of the accusative plural of “pusotra”, the archaic synonym for “puse”. |
| Lithuanian | The word "pusė" is derived from an Indo-European word that also meant "side". |
| Luxembourgish | "Halschent" is related to the German word "halb" (half) and originally meant "having half". |
| Macedonian | The word "половина" in Macedonian is derived from the Old Church Slavonic "polŭ" (half) and is related to the English "full" and "plenty." |
| Malagasy | The Malagasy word "antsasany" comes from the Proto-Austronesian word "antsasa" meaning "half, one side, or part," which is also the root of the Malay word "setengah" meaning "half." |
| Malay | Its etymology may be linked to Sanskrit, and it also refers to “one side” in the Malay language. |
| Malayalam | The Malayalam word 'പകുതി' also translates to 'partial'. |
| Maltese | The word "nofs" can also refer to the middle of a day, night, or month in Maltese. |
| Maori | Hawhe can also refer to the middle of a row in a garden. |
| Marathi | The word "अर्धा" can also mean "a portion" or "a share" in Marathi. |
| Mongolian | The word "хагас" can also refer to a side or direction, such as "зун хагас" (east side). |
| Myanmar (Burmese) | The word 'တစ်ဝက်' can also mean 'half of a whole', 'a part of something', or 'a portion' in Burmese (Myanmar) |
| Nepali | The Nepali word "आधा" has its origins in Sanskrit, where it meant "one part of two" and also referred to the south cardinal direction. |
| Norwegian | The word "halv" can also refer to the side of an animal or object that is not facing the observer. |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The Nyanja word "theka" is also used as a noun meaning "a small portion of food". |
| Pashto | "نیم" can also mean "life" or "breath" in Pashto. |
| Persian | The word " نیم " (nim) means "half" in Persian and comes from the Proto-Indo-European root "h₂émi," which also means "half". In addition to its literal meaning, "نیم" can also refer to a "moment" or "instance" in Persian. |
| Polish | The Polish word "pół" can also refer to a "side" or "direction". |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The Portuguese word "metade" originates from the Latin "medietas", meaning "middle", and can also refer to "average" or "middle point". |
| Punjabi | The word 'ਅੱਧੇ' in Punjabi may have roots in Sanskrit or Prakrit, where it could have meant 'part' or 'portion'. |
| Romanian | "jumătate" is derived from the Slavic word "polovina", which also means "half". |
| Russian | The word 'половина' can also refer to one of the pair or sides of an object that has been split in two. |
| Samoan | The word "afa" in Samoan can also refer to one of two parts or one side of something. |
| Scots Gaelic | "Leth" also means "side" or "direction" in Scots Gaelic, a sense that is preserved in the English word "lee" (as in "the lee side of the ship"). |
| Serbian | Пола ("half") in Serbian can also refer to the "part" or "surface" of an object or area. |
| Sesotho | The Sesotho word "halofo" is derived from the Bantu root "-pa". In many Bantu languages, the same root means "two" or "pair." |
| Shona | The word 'hafu' in Shona can also mean 'child' or 'offspring'. |
| Sindhi | The word for "half" in Sindhi, "اڌ" (udh), also means "side" or "direction". |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | Sinhala 'අඩක්' means 'half' as well as being one of many forms of the ordinal "first." |
| Slovak | "Polovica" also means "a girlfriend" or "a mistress" in Slovak slang. |
| Slovenian | The word "pol" in Slovenian comes from the Proto-Slavic word *pólŭ, meaning either "half" or "field". |
| Somali | The word "badh" can also refer to the middle of something, such as a road or a river. |
| Spanish | Medio's alternate meaning is 'so-so' or 'average', and it comes from the Latin 'medius' (middle). |
| Sundanese | The word "satengah" also means "some" or "a little bit" in Sundanese. |
| Swahili | Nusu, meaning "half", can also refer to "a section" or "a part" in Swahili. |
| Swedish | The Swedish word "halv" also means "inclined". |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | "Kalahati" (half) is derived from Sanskrit "kalpa" (eon). |
| Tajik | In some dialects, "нисф" can also mean "a little bit" or "a few". |
| Tamil | "பாதி" (half) literally means "pāthi:" (partition) or "bāgam" (part). |
| Telugu | The word సగం ('half') in Telugu comes from Proto-Dravidian *pakam ('side, half'). |
| Thai | The Thai word "ครึ่ง" (krueng; "half") may also refer to a musical scale or half of a traditional dance performance. |
| Turkish | "Yarım" also means "lazy" or "worthless" in slang. |
| Ukrainian | The word "наполовину" is also used to mean "completely" in some contexts. |
| Urdu | نصف is also used as a fraction, e.g. "نصف ونص" means "one and a half". |
| Uzbek | The word "yarmi" also means "shoulder" and "side" in Uzbek. |
| Vietnamese | The word "một nửa" in Vietnamese translates to "half" in English, but it can also mean "halfway" or "middle". |
| Welsh | Welsh hanner "half" is etymologically linked to "gan" "with," meaning "to go with, share, divide". |
| Xhosa | The word 'isiqingatha' also means a twin or sibling pair, emphasizing the equal nature of a 'half'. |
| Yiddish | The Yiddish word "העלפט" not only means "half", but also "help". |
| Yoruba | "Idaji" is related to "daji" meaning "to divide". It can also mean "side" or "region". |
| Zulu | The word 'uhhafu' in Zulu can also refer to a half-moon or a half-brother/half-sister. |
| English | "Half" derives from the Old English "healf", meaning "side" as in "left half" or "right half". |