一半
yíbàn · HSK 1
one half
➗ 一 (one) + 半 (half) = one half
一半 is a literal compound: 一 means 'one' and 半 means 'half'. Together they read as 'one half'. The same pattern extends to '半' as 'in part' — half of something rather than the whole.
一 — single horizontal stroke
一 is one of the simplest pictographs in Chinese, depicting a single horizontal line to represent the number one. It has retained essentially the same form since oracle bone script over 3,000 years ago. By extension it also means 'first,' 'whole,' or 'same.'
半 — 八 (split) + 牛 (ox/cow)
半 originally depicted an ox (牛) being divided in two, shown by the splitting strokes 八 on top. The image of cleaving an ox down the middle gave rise to the meaning 'half' or 'to divide into halves'. The modern sense of 'half' or 'partial' comes directly from this ancient act of splitting.