間
間 — Interval
interval, space
On’yomiカン (kan)
On’yomiケン (ken)
Kun’yomiあいだ (aida)
Kun’yomiま (ma)
Kun’yomiあい (ai)
Stroke order (12 strokes)
Watch the strokes draw themselves in the correct order — numbers mark where each stroke starts. Diagram from KanjiVG (CC BY-SA).
Common words using 間
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 期間 | きかん kikan | period; term; interval |
| 時間 | じかん jikan | time; hour; period |
| 人間 | にんげん ningen | human being; human; person |
| 年間 | ねんかん nenkan | (period of) a year; during the era (of) |
| 民間 | みんかん minkan | private; non-governmental; non-official |
| 中間 | ちゅうかん chuukan | middle; midway; halfway |
Study notes
間 is a JLPT N5 kanji written with 12 strokes. It is taught in Japanese elementary school (grade 2), so native children learn it early — a good sign it appears everywhere. Ranked #33 of the 2,500 most frequent kanji in newspapers. On’yomi (音読み) are Chinese-derived readings mostly used in compound words; kun’yomi (訓読み) are native Japanese readings, with any highlighted part written in hiragana after the kanji (okurigana).
🔊 Tap the big kanji, any reading or any example word to hear it.