half of million

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "half of million" is not correct in standard written English.
The correct expression is "half a million." Example: "The project cost half a million dollars to complete."

⚠ May contain grammatical issues

News & Media

Formal & Business

Science

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

3 human-written examples

Not impressive by the way it looks, but critical by its role in safe water supply for a half of million of people living in Donetsk region.

Unicef

With over half of million tourists visiting Iceland each year, we see this as major source of growth.

Forbes

Approximately half of million SNPs with a validation rate of over 85.9% were identified in genic regions, single or low copy repeat regions, and uncharacterized low copy number sequences [ 25].

BMC Genomics

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

57 human-written examples

Maybe half of one.

The New York Times - Sports

That adds up to twenty-five — half of fifty.

The New Yorker

Hawke ate half of one and pronounced it delicious.

The New Yorker

"One half of one of our two great political parties has gone bonkers," he said.

The New Yorker

We only got half of one hockey season, but at least it was the better half.

The New Yorker

The first half of "Two Thousand Years" is composed of many short scenes, some wordless.

The New York Times

Unwittingly or otherwise, Monica has now become the other half of two separate double acts.

The Guardian - TV & Radio

LOCATION On the northern half of Seven Mile Island, which it shares with Stone Harbor.

The New York Times - Travel

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When referring to amounts close to 500,000, use "half a million" or "approximately five hundred thousand" for clarity and grammatical correctness. Avoid the construction "half of million".

Common error

Avoid saying "half of million". The correct phrasing is "half a million". Using "a" indicates that you're referring to a single unit (one million) which is then divided.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "half of million" functions as a prepositional phrase attempting to quantify a portion of a million. However, according to Ludwig AI, this phrasing is grammatically incorrect. Instead, "half a million" is the standard and accepted form.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

News & Media

33%

Formal & Business

33%

Science

33%

Less common in

Wiki

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "half of million" is generally considered grammatically incorrect. As Ludwig AI points out, the correct form is "half a million". While examples exist in news and business contexts, their limited number and the grammatical issue indicate that "half of million" should be avoided in favor of "half a million" or alternative expressions like "approximately five hundred thousand". Using the correct article "a" ensures clarity and adherence to standard English grammar.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

approximately five hundred thousand

Uses a more precise numerical representation.

around half a million

Emphasizes the approximation and corrects the grammatical structure.

about five hundred thousand

Similar to 'approximately' but with a slightly more casual tone.

in the vicinity of half a million

More formal way of indicating an approximate number.

close to five hundred thousand

Indicates the number is nearly but not exactly 500,000.

nearly half a million

Highlights that the amount is just below half a million.

almost five hundred thousand

Similar to 'nearly' but emphasizes the closeness to the exact number.

something like half a million

Informal way of expressing an approximate quantity.

half a million or so

Adds a casual, less precise feel.

in the neighborhood of five hundred thousand

An idiomatic way to express an approximate amount.

FAQs

What is the correct way to say "half of million"?

The grammatically correct way is to say "half a million". The article "a" is necessary to correctly express the quantity.

Is "half of million" ever acceptable?

While the phrase "half of million" might be understood in very informal contexts, it is generally considered incorrect in standard written and spoken English. Always use "half a million".

What are some alternatives to "half a million"?

You can use phrases like "approximately five hundred thousand", "around five hundred thousand", or "close to half a million" to express a similar meaning.

Why is "half of million" considered grammatically incorrect?

The phrase "half of million" omits the necessary article "a", which is required when referring to a fraction of a single unit. The correct form, "half a million", clarifies that you're talking about half of one million.