1.
middle of the month; mid-month
The middle portion of a calendar month, roughly the 10th to 20th. Combines 月 ("month") with 半ば ("middle, halfway point"). Used both as a time expression in itself and to anchor schedules: "by mid-month," "around the middle of the month," etc.
月半ばに払う。
I'll pay in the middle of the month.
報告書は月半ばまでに提出してください。
Please submit the report by the middle of the month.
月初めは忙しいので、打ち合わせは月半ばあたりにしましょう。
The beginning of the month is busy, so let's set the meeting for around mid-month.
月半ばを過ぎると、月末締切の仕事が気になり始める。
Once we get past the middle of the month, I start worrying about the end-of-month deadlines.
月半ば is a fairly common time expression for the middle stretch of a calendar month. The 半ば element is the same word that appears in many "middle of X" expressions: 年半ば ("middle of the year"), 道半ば ("halfway along the road / partway done").
FORMATION:
- 月 ("month") + 半ば ("middle, midway point") → 月半ば
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 月半ばに: in mid-month
- 月半ばまでに: by mid-month
- 月半ばを過ぎる: to pass the middle of the month
- 月半ばあたり: around mid-month
- 月半ば頃: roughly mid-month
SIMILAR / RELATED TERMS:
- 月初め / 月初: beginning of the month
- 月末: end of the month
- 中旬: middle ten days of the month (a more formal/precise term, used in news and documents)
- 上旬: first ten days of the month
- 下旬: last ten days of the month
- 年半ば: middle of the year
USAGE NOTES:
- 月半ば is conversational and slightly soft compared to 中旬, which is more precise and used in business writing, schedules, and weather forecasts. "6月中旬" is the natural way to write "mid-June" in a printed schedule, while "月半ば" is more typical in speech.
- 半ば can also be used as a noun on its own meaning "halfway, in the middle of doing," as in 仕事半ばで帰る ("to leave with the work half-done").