Hälfte
German
Etymology
From Middle Low German helfte, derived from half (“half”). The form entered early modern German via Central German. The alternation -b- ↔ -ft- between halb and Hälfte 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
Noun
Hälfte f (genitive Hälfte, plural Hälften)
- half; fifty percent of something
- Jeder von uns kriegt die Hälfte.
- Each of us gets half.
- half, share; any of two correlating pieces, whatever the size
- Ich will die größere Hälfte!
- I want the bigger half!
- (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
Derived terms
Related terms
Further reading
- “Hälfte” in Duden online