【半】(han, naka-ba/ half) Japanese Kanji / JLPT N5

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In this time, I will introduce the Kanji character 半.

How to read

① Onyomi (Chinese reading)

The on-readings are

・はん　han

For example,

・半分　はんぶん　han-bun
It means half
ピザを半分に切った　ぴざをはんぶんにきった　pizza o han-bun ni kitta
I cut the pizza in half.

・半径　はんけい　han-kei
It means radius
これは半径5センチの円です　これははんけいごせんちのえんです　kore wa han-kei go senchi no en desu
This is a circle with a radius of 5 cm

・半円　はんえん　han-en
It means semicircle

・半端　はんぱ　han-pa
It means incompleteness, incomplete

and so on.

② Kunyomi (Japanese reading)

Next, the kun-reading is

・なか-ば　naka-ba

For example,

・半ば　なかば　naka-ba
It means middle

and so on.

③ Special reading

No special reading

Meanings

Next is the meaning of the kanji for 半.
This kanji is used in the next meanings

・half
・middle

Radical

And the radical of this character is 十　jū
This character itself is a radical, a basic character.

Family name

Next, I will introduce family names. Here are some family names that are particularly common in Japan.

・半田　はんだ　Handa
・半沢　はんざわ　Hanzawa
・半井　なからい　Nakarai

Personal name

There are no specific well-known personal names using the Kanji for 半

Famous person

Next, I will introduce Japanese celebrities who use the Kanji 半

・竹中 半兵衛　たけなかはんべえ　Takenaka Hanbē
He was a warlord of the warring states/ sengoku-period

・服部 半蔵　はっとりはんぞう　Hattori Hanzō
He was a ninja in the service of Tokugawa Ieyasu

・半藤 一利　はんどうかずとし　Handō Kazutoshi
He was a novelist

Famous place

Next, I will introduce place names and tourist attractions that use the Chinese character for 半.

・半蔵門　はんぞうもん　Hanzomon
This is the name of the gate on the west side of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. It is also the name of a subway station and line.

Look-alikes

There is no particular kanji that resembles the kanji character for "半".

kanji that contain character 半 in their composition

Here are some kanji that contain character 半 in their composition

・伴　はん、ばん、ともなう　han, ban, tomona-u
It means accompany

・判　はん、ばん　han, ban
It means judgement

・畔　はん　han
It means shore, by the side of (e.g. a river, pond)

・絆　はん、きずな　han, kizuna
It means bonds (between people), relationship

These letters often share the meaning of "half."
Also, these characters are often read as "han"

↓Other kanji characters can be found in the list here↓

Tags

Tap or click to see a list of related Kanji pages.