What's the difference between a minor 7th and a diminished 7th?
Isabella Bartlett
Updated on January 05, 2026
The half diminished chord (m7b5) has a minor seventh (7) - it's a m7 chord wth a flat five (b5). The diminished chord has a diminished seventh (dim7, °7). The minor 7th is again decreased by a semitone and hence is equivalent to a sixth (6) - only the theoretical approach is different.