半 – JLPT N5 Kanji, Kanji for half, middle, odd number, part-, semi- (With 3D Visualization)
Kanji for half, middle, odd number, part-, semi-
Fast lookup with examples and clean stroke-order visualization.
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半
- Meanings
- half, middle, odd number, part-, semi-
- Onyomi
- ハン
- Kunyomi
- なか.ば
- Name Readings
- は
- JLPT
- N5
- Grade
- 2
- Frequency
- -
- Kanji Writing Practice
- Practice
Stroke Order
Story
The kanji 半 comes from an ancient image showing something divided in the middle — a line splitting a shape into two equal parts. In early script, it depicted the act of cutting or dividing a whole into halves. The symbol carried the sense of balance and proportion — not complete, not gone, but perfectly divided. Over time, this shape came to represent “half” or “middle,” used to describe partial amounts, times, or states of being between two ends.
Short Story
Derived from the image of a whole divided in two, 半 expresses the idea of a half, a midpoint, or something incomplete yet balanced between both sides.
Mnemonic
This kanji declares: a single line cuts evenly through the center — 半 represents the half, the equal division that stands between beginning and end.
Vocabulary Examples
| Word | Reading | Meaning | Meta |
|---|---|---|---|
| 半 | はん | half, semi-, partial | common JLPT-N5 Noun, used as a prefix, Noun |
| 半分 | はんぶん | half | common JLPT-N5 Adverb (fukushi), Noun |
| 半島 | はんとう | peninsula | common JLPT-N2 Noun |
| 半ば | なかば | middle, halfway, midway | common JLPT-N3 Noun, Noun, used as a suffix |
| 半端 | はんぱ | remnant, fragment, incomplete set, incompleteness | common JLPT-N1 Noun, Na-adjective (keiyodoshi) |
| 半球 | はんきゅう | hemisphere | Noun |
| 半径 | はんけい | radius | common JLPT-N2 Noun |
| 半年 | はんとし | half a year, six months | common Noun, Adverb (fukushi) |
| 半数 | はんすう | half the number, half (of an amount) | common Noun, Noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no' |
| 半減 | はんげん | reduction by half, halving | common Noun, Suru verb, Transitive verb, Intransitive verb |