Halving & Scaling Calculator
Half of ¾ cup, a third of ⅔ cup, double ⅓ — in measures you already own
Halving a recipe is easy until it asks for ¾ cup. Half of that is ⅜ cup, and no measuring set has a ⅜ scoop — so the answer has to come out of tablespoons.
The questions people actually ask
- Half of ¾ cup is ⅜ — ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons.
- Half of ⅓ cup is ⅙ — 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons.
- Half of ¼ cup is ⅛ — 2 tablespoons.
- Half of ½ cup is ¼ — ¼ cup.
- Half of 1½ cups is ¾ — ¾ cup.
- Half of ⅔ cup is ⅓ — ¼ cup, 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon.
- Half of ¼ teaspoon is ⅛ — ⅛ teaspoon.
Every common measure, halved and thirded
Everything here is exact: the arithmetic is done in teaspoons, which every kitchen measure divides into cleanly.
| Measure | Half | A third |
|---|---|---|
| 1 cup | ½ cup | ¼ cup, 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon |
| ¾ cup | ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons | ¼ cup |
| ⅔ cup | ¼ cup, 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon | 3 tablespoons plus 1⅔ teaspoons |
| ½ cup | ¼ cup | 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons |
| ⅓ cup | 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons | 1 tablespoon plus 2⅓ teaspoons |
| ¼ cup | 2 tablespoons | 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon |
| ⅛ cup | 1 tablespoon | 2 teaspoons |
| 1 tablespoon | 1½ teaspoons | 1 teaspoon |
| 1 teaspoon | ½ teaspoon | ⅓ teaspoon |
| ½ teaspoon | ¼ teaspoon | ⅙ teaspoon |
| ¼ teaspoon | ⅛ teaspoon | 1/12 teaspoon |
When to weigh instead
Spoon arithmetic works, but it stacks errors: three spoonfuls of flour, each slightly heaped, is not the same as one level ⅜-cup scoop that does not exist. A scale sidesteps all of it, because halving a number is exact in a way that halving a scoop is not.
It matters most for flour, which compacts. A cup spooned and levelled is 125 g; the same cup dragged through the bag can be 150 g. Halve the wrong one and the error halves with it.
Frequently asked questions
What is half of ¾ cup?
⅜ cup, which measures out as ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons. There is no ⅜ scoop in a standard set, which is why the question gets asked so often.
What is half of ⅓ cup?
⅙ cup — 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons. A sixth of a cup is not a measure any set has, so it has to be built from spoons.
How do I halve an egg?
Beat the egg, then weigh or measure half of it. A large US egg out of the shell is about 50 g, so half is roughly 25 g — about 1½ tablespoons.
Does halving change the baking time?
Usually yes, because the batter is shallower. The temperature stays the same; start checking well before the original time and go by the recipe's doneness cue rather than the clock.