Words that start with ПОЛ-: Meaning and Spelling

You may have already noticed that in Russian, the collocation “половина чего-то”(half of something) can transform into an independent word. See for yourself.

• половина часа = полчаса (half an hour)
• половина минуты = полминуты (half a minute)
• половина жизни = полжизни (half life)
• половина стакана = полстакана (half a glass)
• половина чашки = полчашки (half a cup)
• половина литра = пол-литра (half a liter)
• половина лимона = пол-лимона (half a lemon)
• половина яблока = пол-яблока (half an apple)

Some words that begin with the combination “ПОЛ-” (only if it means “a half”) are written with a hyphen, and some are written together. What does this depend on? “ПОЛ-” is written with a hyphen if the second part of the word begins:

• with a vowel, for example: пол-августа (half August), пол-института (half an institute), пол-апельсина (half an orange);
• with a capital letter, for example: пол-Москвы (half of Moscow), пол-России (half of Russia), пол-Эрмитажа (half of the Hermitage);
• with a consonant Л, for example: пол-лета (half a summer), пол-ложки (half a spoon), пол-литра (half a liter).

In all other cases, words with “ПОЛ-” are written together.