Chinese word

间

Pronunciation

Pinyinjiān

Meaning

  • nounbetween

Example

考试和放假之间只有两天。kǎo shì hé fàng jià zhī jiān zhí yǒu liǎng tiān

There are only two days between the exam and the vacation.

Illustration for 间 (between)

More examples

我们的房间不大。wǒ men de fáng jiān bú dà

Our room is not large.

Core concept

A space that lies between things or times, or a separate space inside a building.

Common phrases

  • 房间fáng jiān

    room

  • 中间zhōng jiān

    middle

  • 之间zhī jiān

    between

Similar words

期间qī jiān: A period during which an event or state continues.
之间zhī jiān: The relationship or connection between two people or things.
中间zhōng jiān: The middle position in a space or sequence.
时间shí jiān: Time as the point when something happens or the length it lasts.

Definition in Chinese

表示两个点之间的空隙、间隔或关系，也可以指建筑物内的单个房间。biǎo shì liǎng gè diǎn zhī jiān de kòng xì jiàn gé huò guān xì yě ké yǐ zhǐ jiàn zhù wù nèi de dān gè fáng jiān

Word origin

The character 间 (jiān, "between; room") developed from the idea of a space within a gate, then extended from physical space to the gap between things and the stretch between times.

Usage tips

  • Unlike English between, this word often comes after the two sides it links, so the sentence order feels reversed to English speakers.

Other meanings

  • roommeasure word
  • periodnoun

Related words

Word lists with this word