Refers to the middle point in space, time, or progress. Also used as a suffix to mean 'in the middle of'.
会議の半ばで彼は退席した。
He left the meeting halfway through.
We took a break at a shop midway along the road.
half (of); one half
Used to indicate a half portion or roughly half of something.
Half of the participants were women.
partly; half (done, jokingly)
Adverbial use meaning something is done partially, not completely, or with mixed feelings. Often used with verbs like 諦める, 冗談で言う, etc.
Though I had half given up, I kept trying until the end.
He said that half jokingly.
Adverbial use meaning 'for the most part' or 'almost entirely'. Often used when something is nearly complete or mostly the case.
The construction is mostly complete.
His story was almost true.
I moved into a new apartment in mid-September.
He gave up on the marathon halfway through.
I was practically forced to take part.
He is a man in his mid-thirties.
You could say the plan was mostly a success.
His words were half serious, half joking.
半ば is commonly used for the middle of a time period (like 8月半ば, mid-August), whereas 中ほど is more general and can describe space, time, or sequence.
be roughly equal; balance out; cancel each other out