Structure
Verb + 間に
[い]Adjective + 間に
[な]Adjective + な + 間に
Noun + の + 間に
Details
Register
Standard
About の間に
間に is an expression that can be used with almost any type of word, to highlight that (A) is the period/space within which something else will or did happen/exist. It may also be a period/space 'until' something else will or did happen/exist. It is a combination of the noun 間, and the case marking particle に.
When used with verbs or い-Adjectives, 間に will simply follow the verb/adjective. However, の will be required after nouns, while な will be required after な-Adjectives.
When 間に is being used to express the period/space 'until' something happens/exists, it will be paired with まで.
With 間に, the (B) action/location is usually something that can or did happen/exist at a 'specific' point during (A), and does/did not take up the whole time-frame/space of (A). In this way, it can translate more literally as 'in the span of (A)'. This comes from the kanji 間's common meaning as 'an interval'.
Synonyms
ながら
While ~ing, During, As
Not studied yet
うちに
While, During
Not studied yet
~ところに・~ところへ
At the time, When, While, Timing
Not studied yet
とき
When, At the time of
Not studied yet
ているところだ
In the process of doing ~ right now/at this moment
Not studied yet
ているあいだに
While, During the time that ~
Not studied yet
中
During, While, Throughout, In the process of
Not studied yet
最中に
In the middle of
Not studied yet
ついでに
While you are at it, On the occasion
Not studied yet
Examples
--:--
Get more example sentences!
Premium users get access to 12 example sentences on all Grammar Points.
いつも眠っている間に歯軋りをしてしまう。
I always grind my teeth while I'm asleep.
私が暇な間に、電話をかけてください。
Please call me while I am free.
仕事に行くまでの間に掃除したかったけど無理だった。
During the time that I had before going to work I wanted to clean, but it was not possible.
私が家にいる間に、電話をかけてください。
Please call me while I am at home.
僕が東京に行っていた5年の間に、彼は変わってしまった。
He had changed during the 5 years I was in Tokyo.
Self-Study Sentences
Study your own way!
Add sentences and study them alongside Bunpro sentences.
Online
間に
LearnJapaneseDaily
Difference between 間 and 間に
JStackExchange
Examples and formation
Core 6000
Offline
Genki II 1st Edition
Page 185
Genki II 2nd Edition
Page 216
[DBJG] A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar
Page 69
Track Resources!
Bunpro tracks all of the resources you’ve visited, and offers relevant bookmarks of physical books to help with offline tracking.
の間に – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (21 in total)
Daru
This grammar point always refers to space!
The first sentence is “in the valley in the space between the mountains”, whilst the second one is “between two tall people”, like you’ve correctly pointed out.
Could you give a bit more clarification on what is it that you feel like you’re missing? To me it seems like you have a good grasp.
razmic
For this,
長い航海の間に、僕は本物の船乗りになったんだ。
During a long voyage, I became a real sailor.
Is there a reason I could not use の序でに instead of の間に?
Forgive me if this has been answered somewhere.willemvanhazendonk
then how about the following sentences
いつも、忙しい間には掃除できない
いつも、忙しいうちには掃除ができないI assume the latter would be wrong/unnatural since it became a select time frame due to いつも
while i am busy i cant always clean / or always while busy i cannot clean.then theres the following sentence:
赤ちゃんは食べている内に寝てしまった
赤ちゃんは食べている間に寝てしまった
would the first one imply that because the baby fell asleep he won’t be able to eat anymore? wheres the second sentence simply states that the baby fell asleep?
Got questions about の間に? Join us to discuss, ask, and learn together!
Join the Discussion