Today’s second #kanji is #半. This is listed under the radical of #十. The 2 diagonal strokes at the top used to be 八 (to divide) in its original form and its middle bit represented a bull (牛), so its original meaning was to cut a bull in half – a bit gruesome.
Meaning: half, edge, incompleteness, odd number
半分(ハンブン): half
半端(ハンパ)(な): incomplete, odd, irresponsible
半日(ハンニチ): half a day, a half day
半月(ハンゲツ): a half moon, a dichotomy; a semicircle
半月(ハンつき): half a month, a half month
半年(ハンとし): half a year, a half year
八時半(ハチジハン): [time] half past 8
前半(ゼンハン/ゼンパン): the first half, the first period (of a game)
後半(コウハン): the second half, the latter half
大半(タイハン): more than half, most, the majority
半ば(なかば): the middle, halfway, half, part, nearly
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