Half in Different Languages
Discover 'Half' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'half' is a common term that carries great significance in various aspects of life. It represents division, balance, and equal parts, making it a culturally important concept worldwide. From mathematics to literature, 'half' has been used to express the idea of sharing, division, and proportionality.
Moreover, the translation of 'half' in different languages can provide fascinating insights into cultural nuances and language development. For instance, the Spanish translation of 'half' is 'medio', which originates from the Latin word 'medius', meaning 'middle'. Similarly, the German translation of 'half' is 'halb', which has been derived from the Old High German word 'halba'. These translations not only help us understand the word better but also offer a glimpse into the historical and cultural contexts of different languages.
Understanding the translation of 'half' in various languages can be beneficial for travelers, language learners, and cultural enthusiasts. It can facilitate communication, enhance language skills, and foster cultural appreciation.
Here are some translations of 'half' in different languages:
Half
Half in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | die helfte | ||
| 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"). | |||
| Amharic | ግማሽ | ||
| The word ግማሽ derives from the Ge'ez term ገመስ, which means 'to cut into two' or 'to divide into two equal parts'. | |||
| Hausa | rabi | ||
| The Hausa word "rabi" can also be used to mean "a share" or "a part". | |||
| Igbo | ọkara | ||
| 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. | |||
| Malagasy | antsasany | ||
| 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." | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | theka | ||
| The Nyanja word "theka" is also used as a noun meaning "a small portion of food". | |||
| Shona | hafu | ||
| The word 'hafu' in Shona can also mean 'child' or 'offspring'. | |||
| Somali | badh | ||
| The word "badh" can also refer to the middle of something, such as a road or a river. | |||
| Sesotho | halofo | ||
| The Sesotho word "halofo" is derived from the Bantu root "-pa". In many Bantu languages, the same root means "two" or "pair." | |||
| Swahili | nusu | ||
| Nusu, meaning "half", can also refer to "a section" or "a part" in Swahili. | |||
| Xhosa | isiqingatha | ||
| The word 'isiqingatha' also means a twin or sibling pair, emphasizing the equal nature of a 'half'. | |||
| Yoruba | idaji | ||
| "Idaji" is related to "daji" meaning "to divide". It can also mean "side" or "region". | |||
| Zulu | uhhafu | ||
| The word 'uhhafu' in Zulu can also refer to a half-moon or a half-brother/half-sister. | |||
| Bambara | tilancɛ | ||
| Ewe | afa | ||
| Kinyarwanda | kimwe cya kabiri | ||
| Lingala | katikati | ||
| Luganda | kitundu | ||
| Sepedi | seripagare | ||
| Twi (Akan) | fa | ||
Half in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | نصف | ||
| The Arabic word "نصف" ("half") also derives from the verb "نصـف" which means to halve, divide, or separate into two. | |||
| Hebrew | חֲצִי | ||
| The word "חֲצִי" (half) also means "an arrow" and "midnight" in Hebrew. | |||
| Pashto | نیم | ||
| "نیم" can also mean "life" or "breath" in Pashto. | |||
| Arabic | نصف | ||
| The Arabic word "نصف" ("half") also derives from the verb "نصـف" which means to halve, divide, or separate into two. | |||
Half in Western European Languages
| Albanian | gjysma | ||
| Gjysma is a word derived from Proto-Albanian *ghesmâ, meaning 'half, part, side' | |||
| Basque | erdia | ||
| "Erdia" (half in Basque) comes from "artean" (between), which also relates to the Basque "arte" (door)" | |||
| Catalan | la meitat | ||
| In Catalan, "la meitat" also refers to a "measure of wine, oil, grain, or any other commodity". | |||
| Croatian | pola | ||
| In Croatian, "pola" can also refer to a field or a part of the body. | |||
| Danish | halvt | ||
| "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 | voor de helft | ||
| In 1988, a Dutch television program called "Voor de Helft" (English: "Halfway") was produced, referring to the half-hour length of the program. | |||
| English | half | ||
| "Half" derives from the Old English "healf", meaning "side" as in "left half" or "right half". | |||
| French | moitié | ||
| 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 | heal | ||
| The Frisian word "hiel" is cognate with the English "heal" and also means "to heal" in a medical sense. | |||
| Galician | a metade | ||
| In Galician, "a metade" also means "the wife". | |||
| German | halb | ||
| 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. | |||
| Icelandic | helmingur | ||
| 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'. | |||
| Irish | leath | ||
| The Irish word "leath" derives from the Proto-Celtic "leti"," meaning "side". | |||
| Italian | metà | ||
| "Metà" can also mean "goal" or "aim" in Italian, derived from the Latin "meta" meaning "turning point" on a racetrack. | |||
| Luxembourgish | halschent | ||
| "Halschent" is related to the German word "halb" (half) and originally meant "having half". | |||
| Maltese | nofs | ||
| The word "nofs" can also refer to the middle of a day, night, or month in Maltese. | |||
| Norwegian | halv | ||
| The word "halv" can also refer to the side of an animal or object that is not facing the observer. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | metade | ||
| The Portuguese word "metade" originates from the Latin "medietas", meaning "middle", and can also refer to "average" or "middle point". | |||
| Scots Gaelic | leth | ||
| "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"). | |||
| Spanish | medio | ||
| Medio's alternate meaning is 'so-so' or 'average', and it comes from the Latin 'medius' (middle). | |||
| Swedish | halv | ||
| The Swedish word "halv" also means "inclined". | |||
| Welsh | hanner | ||
| Welsh hanner "half" is etymologically linked to "gan" "with," meaning "to go with, share, divide". | |||
Half in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | палова | ||
| Палова (half) derives from the Proto-Slavic *pol-, meaning 'floor' or 'half' | |||
| Bosnian | pola | ||
| The word 'pola' in Bosnian can also mean 'gender'. | |||
| Bulgarian | половината | ||
| While "половината" primarily means "half", it can also refer to any part of a whole that is not the majority. | |||
| Czech | polovina | ||
| The word "polovina" also means "better half" or "spouse" in Czech. | |||
| Estonian | pool | ||
| The Estonian word "pool" also means "puddles", "pools" and "pools". | |||
| Finnish | puoli | ||
| The word "puoli" is likely derived from the Proto-Finnic word "*puolo" meaning "side" or "half". | |||
| Hungarian | fél | ||
| The word "fél" can also mean "fear" or "side" in Hungarian. | |||
| Latvian | puse | ||
| The form “pus” is an irregular form of the accusative plural of “pusotra”, the archaic synonym for “puse”. | |||
| Lithuanian | pusė | ||
| The word "pusė" is derived from an Indo-European word that also meant "side". | |||
| Macedonian | половина | ||
| The word "половина" in Macedonian is derived from the Old Church Slavonic "polŭ" (half) and is related to the English "full" and "plenty." | |||
| Polish | pół | ||
| The Polish word "pół" can also refer to a "side" or "direction". | |||
| Romanian | jumătate | ||
| "jumătate" is derived from the Slavic word "polovina", which also means "half". | |||
| Russian | половина | ||
| The word 'половина' can also refer to one of the pair or sides of an object that has been split in two. | |||
| Serbian | пола | ||
| Пола ("half") in Serbian can also refer to the "part" or "surface" of an object or area. | |||
| Slovak | polovica | ||
| "Polovica" also means "a girlfriend" or "a mistress" in Slovak slang. | |||
| Slovenian | pol | ||
| The word "pol" in Slovenian comes from the Proto-Slavic word *pólŭ, meaning either "half" or "field". | |||
| Ukrainian | наполовину | ||
| The word "наполовину" is also used to mean "completely" in some contexts. | |||
Half in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | অর্ধেক | ||
| Gujarati | અડધા | ||
| 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. | |||
| Hindi | आधा | ||
| Hindi word "आधा" has a Persian root, meaning "one". When combined with "एक" it forms "आधा" which now means half. | |||
| Kannada | ಅರ್ಧ | ||
| The word "ಅರ್ಧ" in Kannada is cognate with the Sanskrit word "अर्ध" and can also mean "a group of elephants". | |||
| Malayalam | പകുതി | ||
| The Malayalam word 'പകുതി' also translates to 'partial'. | |||
| Marathi | अर्धा | ||
| The word "अर्धा" can also mean "a portion" or "a share" in Marathi. | |||
| Nepali | आधा | ||
| The Nepali word "आधा" has its origins in Sanskrit, where it meant "one part of two" and also referred to the south cardinal direction. | |||
| Punjabi | ਅੱਧੇ | ||
| The word 'ਅੱਧੇ' in Punjabi may have roots in Sanskrit or Prakrit, where it could have meant 'part' or 'portion'. | |||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | අඩක් | ||
| Sinhala 'අඩක්' means 'half' as well as being one of many forms of the ordinal "first." | |||
| Tamil | பாதி | ||
| "பாதி" (half) literally means "pāthi:" (partition) or "bāgam" (part). | |||
| Telugu | సగం | ||
| The word సగం ('half') in Telugu comes from Proto-Dravidian *pakam ('side, half'). | |||
| Urdu | نصف | ||
| نصف is also used as a fraction, e.g. "نصف ونص" means "one and a half". | |||
Half in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 半 | ||
| The character "半" can also mean "approximately" or "partly". | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 半 | ||
| 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. | |||
| Japanese | ハーフ | ||
| 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. | |||
| Korean | 절반 | ||
| The word 절반 originally meant 'a small portion' and was later used to mean 'half'. | |||
| Mongolian | хагас | ||
| The word "хагас" can also refer to a side or direction, such as "зун хагас" (east side). | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | တစ်ဝက် | ||
| The word 'တစ်ဝက်' can also mean 'half of a whole', 'a part of something', or 'a portion' in Burmese (Myanmar) | |||
Half in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | setengah | ||
| "Setengah" is also the name of a type of traditional Indonesian puppet theater. | |||
| Javanese | separo | ||
| Separuh (half) is a Javanese word that also means "a side" or "a part". | |||
| Khmer | ពាក់កណ្តាល | ||
| ពាក់កណ្តាល comes from 'to wear or put in front' and refers to a cover over only part of something like a scarf over shoulders. | |||
| Lao | ເຄິ່ງ ໜຶ່ງ | ||
| Malay | separuh | ||
| Its etymology may be linked to Sanskrit, and it also refers to “one side” in the Malay language. | |||
| Thai | ครึ่ง | ||
| The Thai word "ครึ่ง" (krueng; "half") may also refer to a musical scale or half of a traditional dance performance. | |||
| Vietnamese | một nửa | ||
| The word "một nửa" in Vietnamese translates to "half" in English, but it can also mean "halfway" or "middle". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kalahati | ||
Half in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | yarım | ||
| "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 | |||
| Kazakh | жартысы | ||
| The word "жартысы" also has the meaning of "side" in Kazakh. | |||
| Kyrgyz | жарымы | ||
| "Жарымы" may mean "half" or "a half" in Kyrgyz. | |||
| Tajik | нисф | ||
| In some dialects, "нисф" can also mean "a little bit" or "a few". | |||
| Turkmen | ýarysy | ||
| Uzbek | yarmi | ||
| The word "yarmi" also means "shoulder" and "side" in Uzbek. | |||
| Uyghur | يېرىمى | ||
Half in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | hapalua | ||
| Hapalua also refers to a type of Hawaiian fish trap. | |||
| Maori | hawhe | ||
| Hawhe can also refer to the middle of a row in a garden. | |||
| Samoan | afa | ||
| The word "afa" in Samoan can also refer to one of two parts or one side of something. | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | kalahati | ||
| "Kalahati" (half) is derived from Sanskrit "kalpa" (eon). | |||
Half in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | chikata | ||
| Guarani | mbyte | ||
Half in International Languages
| Esperanto | duono | ||
| 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". | |||
| Latin | medium | ||
| "Medium" (half) originates from *medh*- (to measure) and thus also "moderate". | |||
Half in Others Languages
| Greek | ήμισυ | ||
| The origin of the word Ήμισυ lies in the pre-Greek term "sem-," also found in the Latin word "semi." | |||
| Hmong | ib nrab | ||
| 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. | |||
| Kurdish | nîv | ||
| The Kurdish word "nîv" also refers to a "piece" or a "section" of something. | |||
| Turkish | yarım | ||
| "Yarım" also means "lazy" or "worthless" in slang. | |||
| Xhosa | isiqingatha | ||
| The word 'isiqingatha' also means a twin or sibling pair, emphasizing the equal nature of a 'half'. | |||
| Yiddish | העלפט | ||
| The Yiddish word "העלפט" not only means "half", but also "help". | |||
| Zulu | uhhafu | ||
| The word 'uhhafu' in Zulu can also refer to a half-moon or a half-brother/half-sister. | |||
| Assamese | আধা | ||
| Aymara | chikata | ||
| Bhojpuri | आधा | ||
| Dhivehi | ހުއްޓުމަކަށް އައުން | ||
| Dogri | अद्धा | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | kalahati | ||
| Guarani | mbyte | ||
| Ilocano | gudua | ||
| Krio | af-af | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | نیو | ||
| Maithili | आधा | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯇꯪꯈꯥꯏ | ||
| Mizo | chanve | ||
| Oromo | walakkaa | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ଅଧା | ||
| Quechua | chawpi | ||
| Sanskrit | अर्ध | ||
| Tatar | ярты | ||
| Tigrinya | ፍርቂ | ||
| Tsonga | hafu | ||