How to Say "Half Hour" in Italian

mezz'ora

To say half hour in Italian, say mezz'ora.

What does it mean word for word?

It is a contraction of mezza ora, where mezza means half and ora means hour.

In Southern Italy you may hear n'ata mezzora for another half hour.

mezz'ora is feminine and takes feminine articles and adjectives.

In Italian, mezz'ora is often used as a vague approximation rather than a precise measurement. If someone says they will arrive in mezz'ora, they may actually mean anywhere from twenty to forty-five minutes.
The phrase a mezz'ora can be used to describe distance instead of time. For example, if a town is a mezz'ora, it means it is a thirty-minute drive or walk away.
In a professional or medical context, a visita di mezz'ora refers to the scheduled slot, but culturally, the actual appointment may start much later due to the common Italian social acceptance of slight delays.

Manca mezz'ora al pranzo.
It's a half hour till lunch.
Here Manca mezz'ora says that half an hour remains before lunch.
Tatoeba #4414111 by Guybrush88, translation #3199038 by CK
Il treno ha circa mezz'ora di ritardo.
The train is about a half-hour overdue.
mezz'ora di ritardo means half an hour late.
Tatoeba #3879745 by Guybrush88, translation #2796780 by sharptoothed
La presentazione durerà esattamente trenta minuti.
The presentation will last exactly thirty minutes.
Ci vorrà circa mezz'ora.
It will take about half an hour.

Giulia and Francesco are deciding when to leave for a movie.

Giulia

A che ora partiamo?
What time are we leaving?
Francesco

Tra mezz'ora, se sei pronta.
In half an hour, if you are ready.
Giulia

Ho ancora un po' di lavoro da finire.
I still have a bit of work to finish.
Francesco

Non preoccuparti, ti aspetto.
Don't worry, I'll wait for you.

Sources

⭐Share⭐ to appreciate human effort 🙏