Hälfte

German

German numbers (edit)
20
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    Cardinal: zwei
    Ordinal: zweite
    Sequence adverb: zweitens
    Ordinal abbreviation: 2.
    Adverbial: zweimal
    Adverbial abbreviation: 2-mal
    Multiplier: zweifach
    Multiplier abbreviation: 2-fach
    Fractional: Hälfte
German Wikipedia article on 2

Etymology

From Middle Low German helfte, derived from half (“half”). The form entered Early Modern German via Central German. Equivalent to halb (“half”) +‎ -te. The alternation -b- ↔ -ft- has not been levelled, probably because the same alternation occurs also—for different reasons—in native High German words (compare schreiben ↔ Schrift). Cognate with Dutch helft.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈhɛlftə/
  • Audio:(file)

Noun

Hälfte f (genitive Hälfte, plural Hälften)

  1. half; fifty percent of something
    Jeder von uns kriegt die Hälfte.
    Each of us gets half.
  2. half, share; any of two correlating pieces, whatever the size
    Ich will die größere Hälfte!
    I want the bigger half!
  3. (chiefly informal) middle; the virtual line where two equal halves meet
    Hier ist die Hälfte vom Spielfeld.
    This is the middle of the pitch.

Declension

Declension of Hälfte [feminine]
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative eine die Hälfte die Hälften
genitive einer der Hälfte der Hälften
dative einer der Hälfte den Hälften
accusative eine die Hälfte die Hälften

Derived terms

Further reading

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