半

bàn

half

semi-; incomplete; (after a number) and a half

divided (丷) + ox (牛) = half

A cleaver splits an ox down the middle, yielding two equal halves. The two strokes of 丷 represent the divided pieces falling away on either side.

丷+牛→半

丷A dividing strokeSemantic

牛OxSemantic

半夏

bàn xià

Pinellia ternata

半音

bàn yīn

semitone

过半

guò bàn

over fifty percent

辽东半岛

liáo dōng bàn dǎo

Liaodong Peninsula

酒至半酣

jiǔ zhì bàn hān

to drink until one is half drunk

阿拉伯半岛

ā lā bó bàn dǎo

Arabian Peninsula

头半天

tóu bàn tiān

morning

雷州半岛

léi zhōu bàn dǎo

Leizhou Peninsula

韩半岛

hán bàn dǎo

Korean peninsula (esp. South Korean usage)

头半天儿

tóu bàn tiān r

erhua variant of 頭半天|头半天[tou2 ban4 tian1]

马来半岛

mǎ lái bàn dǎo

Malay Peninsula

黑天半夜

hēi tiān bàn yè

(idiom) in the middle of the night