Russian Vocabulary (and Wisdom)

How to say "half" in Russian

This Russian word is one of the top 1000 words in Russian. The complete list of most common Russian words is available here.

половина

Meaning: half

Pronunciation: [pah-lah-VEE-nah]

Part of speech: noun (feminine noun)

Rank: #702 (see frequency list)

Example sentences:

На столе́ лежи́т полови́на арбу́за.
There is a half of a watermelon on the table.
Сейча́с полови́на девя́того.
It is half past eight.
literal Now is the half of the 9th [hour].
Пе́рвая полови́на игры́ зако́нчилась вничью́.
The first half of the game ended in a draw.
Ско́лько вре́мени? Полови́на тре́тьего.
What time is it? It's half past two.
literal How much time? Half of the third [hour].
Ольга нашла́ свою́ втору́ю полови́ну.
Olga found her second half.
Я ждал тебя́ три с полови́ной часа́.
I was waiting for you for three and a half hours.

Idioms and set expressions:

первая половина дня = morning
literal the first half of the day
вторая половина дня = afternoon
literal the second half of the day

Related words:

половинка = half (diminutive)

Proverbs and sayings:

Доброе начало -- половина дела.
Well begun is half done.
Хочу -- половина могу.
When there is will, there is a solution.
literal "I want" is the half of "I can".

Other forms of the word (declensions):

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	полови́на	полови́ны
Genitive	полови́ны	полови́н
Dative	полови́н	полови́нам
Accusative	полови́ну	полови́ны
Instrumental	полови́ной (полови́ною)	полови́нами
Prepositional	полови́не	полови́нах

Phrase recordings: Copyright(c) 2011 MasterRussian.com. All rights reserved.
Word recordings: Copyright(c) 2006 Streit Goulnara, Streit Eric, Vion Nicolas. Copyright(c) 2007 S. Sakhno, N. Vion. Distributed under CC-BY.

Got questions?

Ask them in the Russian Questions and Answers — a place for students, teachers and native Russian speakers to discuss Russian grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and other aspects of the Russian language.