half
/hɑːf/
"half" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“half” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #374 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #374
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - One of two usually roughly equal parts into which anything may be divided, or considered as divided.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | half |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /hɑːf/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #374 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “half” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for half is 4 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /hɑːf/. Corpus data places it at rank #374 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 11 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for half, with forms such as "ahlf", "hafl", and "halff". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "has", "hat", "ham", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English half, halfe from Old English healf (“half”); as a noun, 'half', 'side', 'part', from Proto-West Germanic *halb, from Proto-Germanic *halbaz. Cognates Cognate with Old Saxon, Old Frisian, and Old Dutch half, West Frisian heal, Dutch half,… The correct English form is half, spelled H-A-L-F.
Definition
- 1One of two usually roughly equal parts into which anything may be divided, or considered as divided.
- 2One of two usually roughly equal parts into which anything may be divided, or considered as divided.
- 3One of two usually roughly equal parts into which anything may be divided, or considered as divided.
- 4Half of a standard measure, chiefly:
- 5Half of a standard measure, chiefly:
- 6The fraction obtained by dividing 1 by 2.
- 7Any of the three terms at Eton College, for Michaelmas, Lent, and summer.
- 8A half sibling.
- 9A child ticket. Two and a half to Paddington.
- 10abbreviated form for half marathon.
- 11Clipping of half-dollar.
Etymology
From Middle English half, halfe from Old English healf (“half”); as a noun, 'half', 'side', 'part', from Proto-West Germanic *halb, from Proto-Germanic *halbaz. Cognates Cognate with Old Saxon, Old Frisian, and Old Dutch half, West Frisian heal, Dutch half, German halb, Swedish, Danish and Norwegian halv, Icelandic hálfur and Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌻𐌱𐍃 (halbs). Compare halve, behalf.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ahlf,hafl,halff,hallf,hhalf,hlaf
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of half - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “half”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is H-A-L-F - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /hɑːf/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “has” - see the side-by-side comparison. half vs has
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.