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A reduction of the original price by 50%.
商场正在进行周年庆活动，所有商品百分之五十的折扣。
The mall is having an anniversary sale with 50% off on all items.
这张优惠券可以享受百分之五十的折扣。
This coupon gives you a 50% discount.
In business contexts, '百分之五十的折扣' is often shortened to '五折' (wǔ zhé) in Chinese.
In Chinese, '百分之五十' (50%) is often used in formal contexts, while '一半' (half) is more casual. For discounts, '百分之五十的折扣' is precise but '五折' is more common in speech.
Discounts are typically expressed as 'X折' (e.g., '八折' = 20% off). For percentages, use '百分之X的折扣' (e.g., '百分之二十的折扣').
The phrase combines '百分之五十' (50%) and '折扣' (discount). '折扣' originates from the concept of 'folding' (折) the price by a certain percentage.
In Chinese retail, discounts are often expressed as '几折' (e.g., '七折' = 30% off). '百分之五十的折扣' is the formal way to state a 50% discount, while '五折' is the colloquial shorthand.