半年

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 半年(はんとし) means half a year, or six months.
• Basic usage: It expresses a duration, such as time since starting a job or time spent on repairs.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Duration versus a later point
  • 半年かけて means spending six months on something. 半年後 refers to a point six months later, not directly to how long a task took.
• が with elapsed time
  • 半年が過ぎ says that half a year passed. が connects the elapsed period as the subject.