半天
HSK 3 (exam 2025)HSK 1 (2021)
半天 (bàntiān) · half a day
半天 (bàntiān) means “half a day; a long time”. It is written with 2 characters: 半 (half) + 天 (day). It is an HSK 3 word in the current exam syllabus (2025).
How 半天 is built
The characters
半 bàn · half
What 半 is made of
- 丷ha — kwukyel
- 丶 — dot
- 牛niú — ox
Origin hint: A cow 牛 splitting 丷 wood in half (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
天 tiān · day
What 天 is made of
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 大dà — big
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 人rén — person
Origin hint: The heavens 一 above a man 大 (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
Example sentences
我找了你半天。Wǒ zhǎo le nǐ bàntiān.I've been looking for you for ages.
明天我们工作半天。Míngtiān wǒmen gōngzuò bàntiān.Tomorrow we work half a day.
Questions about 半天
What does 半天 mean?
半天 (bàntiān) means “half a day; a long time”.
How do you pronounce 半天?
半天 is pronounced bàntiān.
Which HSK level is 半天?
半天 is in HSK 3 (exam 2025) and HSK 1 (2021).
Related words
- 半年bànniánhalf a year
- 一半yībànhalf
- 半夜bànyèmidnight
- 半途而废bàntú'érfèito give up halfway
- 半bànhalf
- 白天báitiāndaytime
- 后天hòutiānday after tomorrow
- 今天jīntiāntoday
- 明天míngtiāntomorrow
- 前天qiántiānday before yesterday
Learn 半天 with its group
It is part of HSK 1 (2021) · Group 20: a short group with quick checks and spaced repeats.