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Japanese vocabulary · Beginner
How do you say "half" in Japanese?
半分
hanbun
In Japanese, "half" is 半分 (hanbun).
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Pronunciation
Pronounce han-BUN, two syllables where han means half and bun means part, giving a literal half-part.
Writing and usage
半分 is written using kanji. It's a noun, and this word is also taught inside the Noun Town language learning game, where it appears in interactive lessons alongside hundreds of other everyday words.
Example sentence
彼はサンドイッチの半分を食べた。
kareha sandoitchi no hanbun wo tabeta.
He ate half of the sandwich.
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How to remember 半分
Hanbun splits neatly into han, half, and bun, portion - the word itself is already cut in two pieces of meaning.
Related words
- dozen 12 12
- hundred 百 hyaku
- thousand 千 sen
- million 百万 hyakuman
- billion 10億 10 oku
- quarter 四分の一 yonbun no ichi
- double ダブル daburu
- triple トリプル toripuru
- first 一番目 ichibanme
Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.
Questions about 半分
How do you pronounce 半分?
Pronounce han-BUN, two syllables where han means half and bun means part, giving a literal half-part.
Is 半分 formal or casual?
半分 is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.
How is 半分 written in Japanese?
半分 is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as hanbun.
Where can I practice Japanese words for free?
You can play free Japanese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, with no sign-up needed. Every word in the Japanese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.
"Half" in other languages
Curated by Callan Ratcliffe
This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Japanese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation. Want to play the full game? Get Noun Town on Steam.
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