下旬

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: It is read げじゅん. 旬 denotes a roughly ten-day division of a month, and 下旬 is the period from the 21st through the month's final day.
• Basic usage: It locates an event within the late part of a month without specifying a date. The example schedules the seedlings' arrival for late March.
  • 桜の苗は三月下旬に届く予定だ。

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• The last third versus the very end of a month
  • 下旬 begins on the 21st, while 月末 refers to the end of the month or the time close to it. A plan scheduled for the last third of a month is not necessarily set for its final few days.