nửa
[nɨə˧˩]
In Vietnamese, the word for half is nửa.
nửa is used to mean one of two roughly equal parts into which anything may be divided. When you want to express half of a specific noun or time unit, such as half an hour or half a kilo, you place nửa directly before that noun or unit.
Meaning: one of two roughly equal parts into which anything may be divided (noun)
Which one should you use?
While nửa is the standard word for half, the related form phân nửa is more commonly used when describing the act of dividing something into two parts or when describing a proportion.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
When describing a specific unit of time or measurement, a common way to say 'half an hour' is to use nửa tiếng or một nửa tiếng.
Did you know?
- In casual speech, if someone says something is nửa mùa, they are not talking about seasons, but rather calling something 'half-baked' or 'pretentious'.
- When telling time, the word nửa is frequently replaced by rưỡi to mean 'half past'. For example, 1:30 is commonly called một giờ rưỡi rather than using nửa.
- The word nửa is a linguistic relative of words found in the Cham and Chut languages, such as the Cham word dɨə.
Examples in context
- Bạn đến sớm nửa tiếng.You arrived half an hour early.This sentence shows how to use nửa with a time unit.Tatoeba #13474046 by leucammieuvu, translation #13473825 by CM
- Ba là một nửa của sáu.Three is half of six.This sentence uses nửa to express a mathematical half.Tatoeba #13565019 by leucammieuvu, translation #13564753 by araneo
- Một nửa của mười là năm.Half of ten is five.Tatoeba #11303175 by chaule3, translation #11303174 by chaule3
- Ở phần trước của sách, bạn sẽ thấy một nửa nội dung liên quan đến lịch sử.In the front part of the book, you will find half of the content related to history.
- Tôi đã ăn nửa cái bánh.I ate half of the cake.
- Bạn muốn ăn nửa quả táo không?Do you want to eat half an apple?
- Tôi chỉ học nửa vời.I studied only halfheartedly.
- Hãy đi bộ một nửa chừng rồi quẹo trái.Walk approximately halfway, then turn left.
- 20 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Mai and Tuấn are sharing a cake.
- MaiTuấn, hãy ăn nửa cái bánh này đi.Tuấn, please eat half of this cake.
- TuấnNhiều quá, tôi chỉ ăn một nửa nhỏ thôi.That's too much, I'll only eat a small half.
- MaiVậy tôi sẽ chia nửa cho bạn.Then I will divide a half for you.
- TuấnCảm ơn Mai, như vậy là vừa đủ.Thank you Mai, that is just enough.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “half” translations and entries nửa, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries nửa, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
