半A半B
half A, half B; partly A and partly B
Structure
半 A 半 B
What it means
Half A, half B: describes a mixed state. A and B are usually opposites or a pair (信/疑, 真/假, 推/就, 文/白).
How it is built
半 + A + 半 + B, often + 地 as an adverbial: 他半信半疑地把纸条揭下来 (Half believing it, he peeled off the slip).
When to use it
Set phrases are the safest: 半信半疑, 半真半假, 半推半就, 半文半白, 半工半读. Longer pairs also occur: 半开玩笑半认真.
Watch out
Don’t confuse it with 半A不B, which is critical: 半生不熟 “half-cooked”, 半死不活 “half dead”.
Examples
他半信半疑地把纸条揭下来，拿去给主持人看。
Half believing it himself, he peeled off the slip and took it to the host.
她说的话半真半假，你别全信。
What she said was half true and half not, so don’t believe all of it.
我半开玩笑半认真地问他：“你是不是喜欢她？”
Half joking, half serious, I asked him: “Do you fancy her?”
Learn this in Lesson 220 · HSK 9+: 对联、灯谜与飞花令 (Couplets, riddles and poem games)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
Open the lesson →