间 (jiān): room, between
间 (jiān) is a Chinese character meaning “room, between.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 门 (structural) and 日 (structural). It ranks #135 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 间 the sun 日 shining through a doorway 门. Its radical form 门 (gate) appears in many related characters such as 门 (mén, door, gate), 闪 (shǎn, to flash, to dodge), 闭 (bì, to close).
Definitions
- room, between
Etymology & Origin
ideographicThe sun 日 shining through a doorway 门
Decomposition: ⿵门日 (layout: surround-from-top)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 间 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 间
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 时间noun | shí jiān | (concept of) time | 1 |
| 房间noun | fáng jiān | room | 1 |
| 之间noun | zhī jiān | (after a noun) between | 4 |
| 中间noun | zhōng jiān | the middle | 3 |
| 空间noun | kōng jiān | space | 5 |
| 洗手间noun | xǐ shǒu jiān | toilet | 2 |
| 期间noun | qī jiān | period of time | 5 |
| 瞬间noun | shùn jiān | in an instant | 6 |
| 卫生间noun | wèi shēng jiān | bathroom | 3 |
| 时间表noun | shí jiān biǎo | schedule | 4 |
| 夜间noun | yè jiān | nighttime | 5 |
| 间接adjective | jiàn jiē | indirect | 6 |
| 民间noun | mín jiān | among the people | 6 |
| 间隔noun/verb | jiàn gé | gap | 6 |
| 其间noun | qí jiān | in between | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 间谍noun | jiàn dié | spy |
| 人间noun | rén jiān | the human world |
| 中间人 | zhōng jiān rén | intermediary |
| 一瞬间noun | yī shùn jiān | split second |
| 世间noun | shì jiān | world |
| 晚间noun | wǎn jiān | evening |
| 一时间 | yī shí jiān | for a moment |
| 太平间noun | tài píng jiān | mortuary |
| 隔间noun | gé jiān | compartment |
| 套间noun | tào jiān | vestibule |
| 车间noun | chē jiān | workshop |
| 间断verb | jiàn duàn | disconnected |
| 空间站noun | kōng jiān zhàn | space station |
| 乡间noun | xiāng jiān | in the country |
| 衣帽间noun | yī mào jiān | cloakroom |
间 appears in 102 compound words: 17 as the first character, 70 as the last, and 14 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 间 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (17)
Showing 12 of 17 idioms containing 间.
Example Sentences
这个房间很宽敞，可以容纳很多人。
Zhè gè fángjiān hěn kuānchang, kěyǐ róngnà hěn duō rén.
This room is very spacious and can accommodate many people.
大年初三车间灯就亮了,航天老厂通过自研AI平台,稳....
dà nián chū sān chē jiān dēng jiù liàng le , háng tiān lǎo hǎn tōng guò zì yán A I píng tái , wěn . . . .
The workshop lights are on on the third day of the Lunar New Year, and the old aerospace factory has stabilized through the self-developed AI platform....
一文回顾徐梦桃冬奥会风雪卫冕路:16年间参加5届奥..
yī wén huí gù xú mèng táo dōng ào huì fēng xuě wèi 冕 lù nián jiān cān jiā jiè ào . .
An article review Xu Mengtao winter Olympic wind and snow defense road: 16 years to participate in five o...
美国和伊��第二轮间接谈判17日在瑞士日内瓦开始举行
měi guó hé yī dì èr lún jiān jiē tán pàn rì zài ruì shì rì nèi wǎ kāi shǐ jǔ háng
The second round of indirect talks between the United States and Istanbul began in Geneva, Switzerland, on 17 November.
视频丨空间站的年夜饭都有什么?听航天员报菜名收祝福
shì pín 丨 kōng jiān zhàn de nián yè fàn dū yǒu shén má ? yǐn háng tiān yuán bào cài míng shōu zhù fú
Video丨What's on the Space Station's New Year's Eve Menu? Listen as Astronauts List Dishes and Receive Wishes
张艺谋回应在电影《惊蛰无声》中“间谍在垃圾桶交接手..
zhāng yì móu huí yīng zài diàn yǐng jīng 蛰 mó shēng zhōng jiān dié zài lā jī tǒng jiāo jiē shǒu . .
Zhang Yimou responds to the scene in the film Silent Spring where "spies exchange documents in a trash can..."
我的房间号是多少？
Wǒ de fángjiān hào shì duōshao?
What's my room number?
我们用喝茶的时间谈谈，好吗？
Wǒmen yòng hēchá de shíjiān tántán, hǎo ma?
Let's talk over a cup of tea, shall we?
昨天的这个时间你在做什么呢？
Zuótiān de zhège shíjiān nǐ zài zuò shénme ne?
What were you doing about this time yesterday?
大概会花多少时间？
Dàgài huì huā duōshao shíjiān?
About how long will it take?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 间 (jiān) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 间 have?
What is the radical of 间?
What are the components of 间?
What are common words containing 间?
What characters sound the same as 间 (jiān)?
Is 间 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 间 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.