Dong Chinese dictionary

bàn

half

Depicts separating a cow (牛) into two halves (八).

Components

八 Iconic component

bā

eight

Depicts splitting into two halves.

牛 Iconic component

niú

cow

Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 牛 than it was in ancient scripts.

Evolution

Bronze script

Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical script

Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Regular script

Modern

Definitions

bàn

half; semi-; incomplete; (after a number) and a half

Most common words with 半

Component uses

Meaning component in 1 character (0 verified)

Sound component in 11 characters (3 verified)

Sources

季旭昇《說文新證》p.89-90