1.
half-bloom; 50% in bloom
A stage in the blooming of flowers, especially cherry blossoms, where about half the buds have opened. Part of a scale used in Japanese weather reports and cherry blossom forecasts to describe the progress of blooming.
桜はまだ五分咲きだ。
The cherry blossoms are only at half-bloom.
公園の桜が五分咲きになったので花見に行こう。
The cherry blossoms in the park have reached half-bloom, so let's go see them.
天気予報によると、今週末には五分咲きから満開になる見込みだ。
According to the weather forecast, it's expected to go from half-bloom to full bloom this weekend.
BLOOMING SCALE:
Japanese cherry blossom reports use a scale to describe bloom progress: 一分咲き (10%) → 三分咲き (30%) → 五分咲き (50%) → 七分咲き (70%) → 満開 (full bloom) → 散り始め (starting to fall). This scale is widely used in cherry blossom forecasts (桜前線).
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 五分咲きの桜 (cherry blossoms at half-bloom)
- 五分咲きを迎える (to reach half-bloom)
- まだ五分咲き (still only half in bloom)