What Is Half of ½ Cup?
¼ cup — which measures out as ¼ cup
Half of ½ cup is ¼ cup — ¼ cup.
That one is easy: ¼ cup is a measure a standard set already has, so you can scoop it directly.
In teaspoons — the unit everything below a cup divides into cleanly — ½ cup is 24 teaspoons, so half of it is 12 teaspoons. That is the arithmetic; everything below is that number written a different way.
Half of ½ cup, in every unit
| Unit | Half of ½ cup |
|---|---|
| Cups | ¼ |
| Tablespoons | 4 |
| Teaspoons | 12 |
| US fluid ounces | 2 |
| Millilitres | 59.1 ml |
| Measured out | ¼ cup |
Half of ½ cup in grams
Grams depend on what is in the cup, because a cup measures space and grams measure weight. These are the four ingredients people most often halve.
| Ingredient | Grams per US cup | Half of ½ cup |
|---|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | 125 g | 31.3 g |
| Granulated sugar | 200 g | 50 g |
| Butter | 227 g | 56.8 g |
| Water | 237 g | 59.3 g |
Weighing is the reliable way to halve an awkward measure: there is no ¼ scoop, but every scale does halves.
A third, and double
Halving is the common case, but the same measure gets scaled other ways. A third of ½ cup is 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons; double is 1 cup.
| Scale | Amount | Measured out |
|---|---|---|
| A third | ⅙ | 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons |
| Half | ¼ | ¼ cup |
| As written | ½ | ½ cup |
| Double | 1 | 1 cup |
Halving the rest of the recipe
Once one measure is halved the rest of the list still has to be. This is every common measure and what half of it is, built from measures a kitchen actually has.
| Measure | Half | Measured out |
|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | ½ | ½ cup |
| ¾ cup | ⅜ | ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons |
| ⅔ cup | ⅓ | ¼ cup, 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon |
| ½ cup | ¼ | ¼ cup |
| ⅓ cup | ⅙ | 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons |
| ¼ cup | ⅛ | 2 tablespoons |
| ⅛ cup | ¹⁄₁₆ | 1 tablespoon |
| 1 tablespoon | 1/32 | 1½ teaspoons |
| 1 teaspoon | ½ | ½ teaspoon |
| ½ teaspoon | ¼ | ¼ teaspoon |
| ¼ teaspoon | ⅛ | ⅛ teaspoon |
The second column is in cups for anything a tablespoon or larger and in teaspoons below that, because that is the unit the answer is usable in.
Frequently asked questions
What is half of ½ cup?
Half of ½ cup is ¼ cup, which measures out as ¼ cup. In teaspoons it is 12 teaspoons.
How many tablespoons is half of ½ cup?
4 tablespoons. A US tablespoon is 3 teaspoons and a cup is 16 tablespoons, which is where the number comes from.
Can I scoop half of ½ cup directly?
Yes. ¼ cup is in a standard set, so no spoon arithmetic is needed.
Is half of ½ cup the same in the UK?
The fraction is, the volume is not. Half of ½ cup is ¼ cup wherever you are, but a metric cup is 250 ml against the US cup's 236.6 ml, so the same fraction holds about 5.7% more.
What is half of ½ cup in grams?
It depends on the ingredient: 31.3 g of all-purpose flour, 50 g of granulated sugar, 56.8 g of butter or 59.3 g of water.