半
半 — Half
half, middle, odd number, semi-, part-
On’yomiハン (han)
Kun’yomiなかば (nakaba)
Stroke order (5 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 半
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 時半 | じはん jihan | half past (the hour) |
| 後半 | こうはん kouhan | second half; latter half |
| 半分 | はんぶん hanbun | half |
| 前半 | ぜんはん zenhan | first half |
| 大半 | たいはん taihan | majority; more than half; most (of) |
| 半 | はん han | half; semi-; partial |
Study notes
半 is a JLPT N5 kanji written with 5 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 2), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #224 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
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