Mitad

Today's word is: Mitad

Clase: sustantivo (noun)

Género: femenino (feminine)

Origen: latín (Latin)

In Spanish, “mitad” is a feminine noun of Latin origin which means half^*. A typical example of the use of the word “mitad” is:

• La mitad de los telespectadores (half the TV viewers)

Spanish expressions with the word “mitad” are:

• A mitad de (half way/ in the mid point)
  • Hicimos un descanso a mitad de camino (we took a rest halfway)
• Cara mitad (the other half/ the better half)
  • Mi cara mitad (my better half/ other half)
• Cuarto y mitad (a weight equal to 375 grammes/ grams^**)
  • Un cuarto y mitad de queso (375 grammes/ grams of cheese)
• Mentir por la mitad de la barba (to lie blatantly/ to tell barefaced lies)
  • Mientes por la mitad de la barba (you are telling barefaced lies)
• Mitad y mitad (half and half/ fifty-fifty)
  • Reapartamos mitad y mitad (let's share/ split/ go fifty-fifty)
• Partir por la mitad (to divide/ split something in two halves^***)
  • Parte la barra de pan por la mitad (cut/ split the baguette in two halves)
• Plantar a alguien en mitad del arroyo (to throw out/ to kick out/ to sack someone)
  • A Pedro lo plantron en mitad del arroyo (Pedro got the sack/ was kicked out)
• Poner a alguien en mitad del arroyo (to throw out/ to kick out/ to sack someone)
  • A Pedro lo pusieron en mitad del arroyo (Pedro got the sack/ was kicked out)
• Reducir a la mitad (to reduce/ cut something to a half)
  • Nos redujeron el sueldo a la mitad (they cut our salary/ wages to a half)

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Notes

*When the English word half is not a noun but a describing word/ adjective, its Spanish equivalent is not “mitad” but “medio”/ “media” -see below:

“half” (noun)	la mitad	La mitad de una manzana
		La mitad de un melón
“half” (adjective)	medio/ media	Media manzana
		Medio melón

See more on the word “medio” and more on the word “media”

** “Un cuarto” = 250 gr → “la mitad de un cuarto” = 125 gr → “cuarto y mitad” = 250 + 125 = 375 gr

*** Also used sometimes in a figurative sense meaning 'to crush/ break' a person, as in:

• Me partieron a la mitad (they crushed me)

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Love-Spanish.com loves the word "mitad" in the YouTube clip: Mariano Civico - La mitad

For more on the word "mitad", visit: Wordreference.com/es/en/ Mitad

*NB 'Click' on the speaker icon next to the word “mitad”in the link to hear the word pronounced.

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