半夜
bàn yè · HSK 2
in the middle of the night
🌙 半 = half + 夜 = night → half-night = midnight
半 means half and 夜 means night, so 半夜 literally reads as half-night, the point that splits the night in two — midnight or the dead of night.
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.
夜 — 亠 lid + 亻 person + 夕 evening moon
夜 originally depicted a person (亻) under a roof (亠) with the moon (夕) beside them, evoking nighttime rest. The moon component 夕 carries the meaning of evening, while the surrounding elements set the scene of a person at night. Over time it came to mean 'night' in general.