1The young, newly growing part of a plant that emerges from a stem or seed; also used figuratively for the first signs of something beginning.
春になり、庭の木々に芽が出てきた。
Spring has come, and buds have started to appear on the trees in the garden.
植えたばかりの種から小さな芽が出た。
A small sprout came up from the seed that was just planted.
彼の努力が実を結び、成功の芽が出始めた。
His efforts have paid off, and the seeds of success have begun to sprout.
せっかくの才能の芽を摘んでしまうのはもったいない。
It would be a shame to nip such promising talent in the bud.
2A technical biology term for the part of an egg that develops into the embryo after fertilization; the germinal disk.
受精卵の芽（胚盤）の部分から発生が始まる。
Development begins from the germinal disk part of the fertilized egg.