What Is Half of 1 Cup?
Half of 1 cup is ½ cup — that's 8 tablespoons.
Measure it as: 1/2 cup
How to measure ½ cup
- With standard cups & spoons: 1/2 cup
- Tablespoon method: count out 8 level tablespoons. A cup is 16 tablespoons, so awkward cup fractions often come out to a clean number of spoons.
- By volume: 118 ml, or 4 fluid ounces — handy if you have a measuring jug.
- By weight (most accurate): see the gram table below for common ingredients.
Here's the math: 1 cup is 16 tablespoons. Take half of that and you get 8 tablespoons, which is ½ cup. Working in spoons instead of cup fractions is the trick professional bakers use to scale recipes without special equipment.
½ cup in grams
Volume-to-weight depends on the ingredient — a cup of flour weighs far less than a cup of honey. For ½ cup:
| Ingredient | ½ cup weighs about |
|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | 60 g |
| Granulated sugar | 100 g |
| Brown sugar (packed) | 110 g |
| Powdered sugar | 60 g |
| Butter | 114 g |
| Milk | 120 g |
| Water | 119 g |
| Vegetable oil | 109 g |
| Honey | 170 g |
Recipe Halving Chart: nearby amounts
| Original | Half | Measure it as |
|---|---|---|
| ⅔ cup | ⅓ cup | 1/3 cup |
| ¾ cup | ⅜ cup | 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp |
| ⅞ cup | 7/16 cup | 1/4 cup + 3 tbsp |
| 1 cup | ½ cup | 1/2 cup |
| 1¼ cups | ⅝ cup | 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp |
| 1⅓ cups | ⅔ cup | 2/3 cup |
| 1½ cups | ¾ cup | 3/4 cup |
See the full recipe halving chart →
Frequently asked questions
How many tablespoons is ½ cup?
½ cup equals exactly 8 tablespoons. That's often the easiest way to measure it: just count out level tablespoons.
What is half of 1 cup in milliliters?
Half of 1 cup is about 118 ml (4 fl oz).
What's the easiest way to measure ½ cup without special cups?
Use standard measures: 1/2 cup. Every part of that comes from a standard measuring cup and spoon set.