# Nửa / rưỡi / rưởi: half in Vietnamese (A2)

> Nửa is "half", and it goes before what is halved: nửa ký (half a kilo; in Hà Nội nửa cân), nửa tiếng (half an hour), nửa ổ bánh mì (half a baguette).

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/nua-ruoi-half/ · Updated 2026-10-17

**half**

Pattern: `(một) nửa + [noun] · [number] + [unit] + rưỡi · một trăm rưởi`

Level: A2 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

Typed without accents: nua, ruoi

*Nửa* is "half", and it goes before what is halved: *nửa ký* (half a kilo; in Hà Nội *nửa cân*), *nửa tiếng* (half an hour), *nửa ổ bánh mì* (half a baguette). With *một* in front, *một nửa* is "a half, half of it": *Em ăn một nửa thôi.* I'll just have half.

For "and a half", put *rưỡi* after the unit: *một tiếng rưỡi* (an hour and a half), *hai ký rưỡi* (two and a half kilos), and on the clock *ba giờ rưỡi* (half past three). English says "two and a half hours"; Vietnamese says "two hours and a half".

After *trăm*, *ngàn* or *triệu*, the half is of that big unit, and it's spelt *rưởi*: *một trăm rưởi* (150), *hai ngàn rưởi* (2,500), *một triệu rưởi* (1,500,000). At the market, *một trăm rưởi* usually means 150,000 *đồng*.

In Saigon speech, *rưỡi* and *rưởi* sound the same, so only the spelling tells them apart. In Hà Nội the two tones are different.

## A common mistake

✗ Em chờ hai rưỡi tiếng rồi.

✓ Em chờ hai tiếng rưỡi rồi.

*Rưỡi* comes after the unit: *hai tiếng rưỡi*, literally "two hours and a half".

## Examples

- Saigon: Cho em nửa ký thịt bò. | Hà Nội: Cho em nửa cân thịt bò. — Half a kilo of beef, please.
- Em chờ anh nửa tiếng rồi. — I've been waiting half an hour for you.
- Từ Sài Gòn đi Vũng Tàu mất hai tiếng rưỡi. — It's two and a half hours from Saigon to Vũng Tàu.
- Saigon: Mình gặp nhau lúc ba giờ rưỡi nha. | Hà Nội: Mình gặp nhau lúc ba giờ rưỡi nhé. — Let's meet at half past three.
- Cái áo này một trăm rưởi. — This shirt is 150,000.

## Words in this pattern

- [nửa](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/nua-half/#s_nua_half): half
- [rưởi](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/ruoi-and-a-half/#s_ruoi_and_a_half): and a half
- [rưỡi](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/ruoi-half/#lx_ruoi): half

## Compare

- [Fractions, percent, decimals: phần, phần trăm, phẩy](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/fractions-percent/): fractions and percentages

Previous in Things, counting and numbers: [Fractions, percent, decimals: phần, phần trăm, phẩy](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/fractions-percent/)
Next in Things, counting and numbers: [More than, under, nearly + number: hơn, dưới, gần](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/hon-number-more-than/)

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