---
title: "Banye Meaning: 半夜 (bànyè) Means “midnight”"
description: "半夜 (bànyè) means “midnight; the middle of the night”. Hear its tones, see what 半 and 夜 each mean and a real sentence that uses it."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/banye"
published: "2026-10-21"
updated: "2026-11-06"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[What does it mean in Chinese?](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning)

# What does 半夜 mean?

猫头鹰māotóuyīngowl

半夜 bànyè

## midnight; the middle of the night

## Its characters

1. 半 bàn middle (as in 半夜)
2. 夜 yè night

## In a sentence

他昨天半夜才回家。 He didn't get home until midnight yesterday.

**半夜**，一阵大风吹来，那个长着猪脸的人走了进来，想抱“翠兰”。

From [猪八戒 · Pigsy Joins](https://mandarinthewild.com/library/read/pigsy-joins-journey-to-the-west-easy-chinese-15#library-word-250-252)

[More about 半夜](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E5%8D%8A%E5%A4%9C)

## More words with 半 or 夜

- [熬夜 áoyè](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/aoye)
- [半岛 bàndǎo](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/bandao)
- [半导体 bàndǎotǐ](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/bandaoti)
- [半斤八两 bànjīn-bāliǎng](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/banjinbaliang)
- [半天 bàntiān](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/bantian)
- [多半 duōbàn](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/duoban)
- [上半场 shàngbànchǎng](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/shangbanchang)
- [深夜 shēnyè](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/shenye)
- [下半场 xiàbànchǎng](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/xiabanchang)
- [夜班 yèbān](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/yeban)

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