half

for quite a while ⇒ 他等了半天。 Tā děngle bàntiān. → He waited for quite a while.

peninsula

radius ( pl radii )

hemisphere ⇒ 南半球 nánbànqiú → the Southern Hemisphere

( 书 ) halfway point

halve

⇒ 这个班的学生多半英语好。 Zhège bān de xuéshēng duōbàn Yīngyǔ hǎo. → Most of the students in this class have good English. ⇒ 他的家庭成员多半赞同他的婚事。 Tā de jiātíng chéngyuán duōbàn zàntóng tā de hūnshì. → On the whole, most of his family were happy about his marriage.

midnight

eastern hemisphere

( 指言行举止 ) blunderer

( 指物质 ) semiconductor

semi-finished product

( 贬 ) ignoramus

half a lifetime ⇒ 他当了半辈子的教师。 Tā dāngle bànbèizi de jiàoshī. → He had spent half a lifetime as a teacher.

( 指天空 ) half the sky

( 口 ) unfinished

have a smattering of knowledge

the middle of the night ⇒ 你三更半夜不睡觉,跑出去干吗？ Nǐ sāngēng-bànyè bù shuìjiào, pǎo chūqù gànmá? → It's the middle of the night — why aren't you asleep and what are you doing outside?

half the country ⇒ 半壁江山沦落敌手。 Bànbì jiāngshān lúnluò díshǒu. → Half the country has fallen into the hands of the enemy. ⇒ 他拥有这家公司的半壁江山。 Tā yōngyǒu zhè jiā gōngsī de bànbì jiāngshān. → He owns half of the company.

( 口 ) six of one and half a dozen of the other ⇒ 这两个人半斤八两,都不能胜任这份工作。 Zhè liǎng gè rén bàn jīn bā liǎng, dōu bùnéng shèngrèn zhè fèn gōngzuò. → They're six of one and half a dozen of the other - neither of them are competent enough to do the job.

lifeless

( 喻 ) have a complete career change

give up halfway ⇒ 我们一定要坚持到底,不能半途而废。 Wǒmen yīdìng yào jiānchí dàodǐ, bùnéng bàntú ér fèi. → We must persevere - we can't give up halfway.

in the dead of night

⇒ 我看她的病一时半会儿好不了。 Wǒ kàn tā de bìng yī shí bàn huìr hǎobuliǎo. → It seems to me that she's not going to get well for a while. ⇒ 这个问题不是一句半句能讲清楚的。 Zhège wèntí bùshì yī jù bàn jù néng jiǎng qīngchu de. → This can't be explained in a few sentences.

neither ... nor ⇒ 半新不旧 bàn xīn bù jiù → nearly new ⇒ 半懂不懂 bàn dǒng bù dǒng → not quite clear