Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.
You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.
English to Urdu translations [PRO] General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
English term or phrase:half
I would especially like to learn about the differences in meaning or usage between the Urdu words آدھا (aadha) and ساڑھے (saarhe). Is "saarhe" only used in time expressions such as "half past four"?
Explanation: ساڑھے is a local suffix, added to numbers three and above, to denote "-and a half", as well as "half past-".
Thus:
ساڑھے چار سال => four and a half years,
ساڑھے دس بجے => at 10:30, at half past ten
To denote "one and a half" or "half past one", please use ڈیڑھ , which itself is complete and no extra "one" is necessary.
Similarly, use ڈھائی for "two and a half" or "half past two".
آدھا is of Sanskrit origin, and is commonly used to mean just half or incompleteness of something:
آدھا حصہ مجھے دے دو => give me half the share
نیم is of Persian origin and mostly used to denote "half-", "semi-", "mid-", "incomplete" or similar ideas:
نیم سرکاری => semi-official
نیم حکیم => inexperienced physician
نیم شب => midnight ; also : آدھی رات
نصف is of Arabic origin, and is more formal or technical in nature, used in specific cases to mean "half-" in compounds:
نصف روزہ سفر => half-day tour
نصف سالانہ => half-yearly
نصف ملین ڈالر => half a million dollar
I hope the explanation would be helpful to all, and I welcome any comments on it.
The translation workplace 
peer agreement (net): +3
