Russian half

  In Russian language we use пол- in the same way as semi- and half- are used in English. It originates from половина («a half»). There are many words that start with пол-, such as:

полчаса - half an hour

полтора - one and a half

полпути - halfway

полдороги - halfway

полдень - noon (literally «half-day»)

Instead of пол- we sometimes use полу-. The meaning is the same. I'm not sure why some words have пол- and others полу-, to be honest. Maybe because it sounds better in those words?

полумесяц - half moon, crescent

полуночный - midnight (adj.)

полуторачасовой - hour and a half long

полувековой - semicentennial

получасовой - half-hour long

полуденный - midday (adj.)

полумрак - twilight, semidarkness

If after пол- we have a vowel or л, the word will have a hyphen:

пол-лимона - half of a lemon

пол-литра - half of litre

пол-лекции - half of the lecture

пол-урока - half of the lesson

The hyphen also comes when the next part of the word is a proper noun (starts with a capital letter):

пол-России - half of Russia

пол-Африки - half of Africa

If there are a few words, пол- is written separately:

пол моей зарплаты - half of my salary

пол учебного года - half of the school year.

полу- is always written together, without hyphens.