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間
On: カン; ケン
Kun: あいだ; ま
Meaning: interval; space
Kanji Parts:
- 門 (gate)
- 日 (sun with a dot on its head)
Mnemonics:
- The sun 日 rises through the interval or space of the gates 門.
Examples:
- 時間 time
- 昼間 daytime
- 居間 living room
The kanji 間 means "interval" or "space" and, as you should expect, when combined with other kanji, it adds a spatial or interval meaning to the word.
Kanji is fun that way.
You can build meaning by adding meaningful parts, In this way, *sometimes* you can actually guess the meaning of unknown words as long as you know the meaning of the kanji.
Learning words (and therefore kanji) in groups is a good way to quickly increase your vocabulary since our brains are wired to look for meaning and similarities.
Read through each example and example sentence and try to understand the meaning.
間 as 「あいだ」 (interval; space)
First, let's look at a few usages of the kanji as a word by itself. We'll start with the「あいだ」 reading.
この間は遊びに来てくれてありがとう。
Vocabulary & Translation
間 as 「ま」 (time; pause; space)
And now an example with the「ま」 reading.
あっという間に終わった。
Vocabulary & Translation
間 words using the 「かん・げん」 readings
There are many common words that use 間 with the 「かん」 reading such as:
時間 (time; hour)
一時間ぐらいかかります。
Vocabulary & Translation
瞬間 (moment; second; instant)
会った瞬間に彼女を好きになってしまった。
Vocabulary & Translation
期間 (period; term; interval)
博覧会の開催期間は三か月です。
Vocabulary & Translation
民間 (civilian; non-governmental; private)
無差別爆撃で民間人が多数死亡。
Vocabulary & Translation
空間 (space; room)
ここには、勉強する空間がない。
Vocabulary & Translation
And one with 「げん」
人間 (human being; man)
水がなければ、人間は生きられない。
Vocabulary & Translation
間 words using the 「ま」 reading
And here are a few with 「ま」.
昼間 (daytime; during the day)
普段は昼間だけ働きます。
Vocabulary & Translation
仲間 (companion; fellow; friend; mate)
久しぶりに仲間と一緒にレストランに行きました。
Vocabulary & Translation
手間 (time; labor)
その仕事は非常に手間がかかる。
Vocabulary & Translation
隙間 (gap; opening; spare moment; interval; break)
ドアの隙間から、そっと外を見ました。
Vocabulary & Translation
合間 (interval; break; pause; spare moment)
仕事の合間に、来年受ける試験の勉強をしようと思います。
Vocabulary & Translation
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This lesson is totally free, but, as usual, MakotoPlus.com members get supplemental content for this lesson. If you are a member, please click here to download a printable PDF, Anki flashcard deck with sound, and all the sound files.
