mitad
“mitad” means “half” in Spanish (One of two equal parts of a whole).
half
Also: middle
📝 In Action
Dame la mitad de tu sándwich, por favor.
A1Give me half of your sandwich, please.
La película se pone interesante en la segunda mitad.
A2The movie gets interesting in the second half.
Pagamos el coche a mitades.
B1We split the cost of the car (we paid for it in halves).
Nos encontramos a mitad de camino.
B1We met halfway (in the middle of the journey).
🔀 Commonly Confused With
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✏️ Quick Practice
Quick Quiz: mitad
Question 1 of 1
Which sentence correctly says 'I read half of the book'?
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👥 Word Family▼
📚 Etymology▼
Comes from the Latin word 'medietas', which meant 'the middle' or 'the center'. You can see the 'medi-' part, which is related to English words like 'medium' or 'median'.
First recorded: 12th century
Cognates (Related words)
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main difference between 'mitad' and 'medio'?
Think of it this way: 'mitad' is a noun (a thing), meaning 'the half'. 'Medio' is a descriptor, meaning 'half a...'. So you say 'la mitad del día' (the half of the day) but 'medio día' (half a day/midday). They often mean the same thing but are used in different sentence structures.
Can I say 'la media' instead of 'la mitad'?
Usually not for 'half'. 'La media' typically means 'the average' or 'the sock/stocking'. However, for telling time, 'y media' is the standard way to say 'half past', like in 'son las dos y media' (it's 2:30).