Grammar Info

N3 Lesson 1: 4/22

の間(あいだ)にWhile, During, Between, Period

Structure

Verb + 間(あいだ)に
［い］Adjective + 間(あいだ)に
［な］Adjective + な + 間(あいだ)に
Noun + の + 間(あいだ)に

Details

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About の間に

間(あいだ)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(あいだ), and the case marking particle に.

When used with verbs or い-Adjectives, 間(あいだ)に will simply follow the verb/adjective. However, の will be required after nouns, while な will be required after な-Adjectives.

When 間(あいだ)に is being used to express the period/space 'until' something happens/exists, it will be paired with まで.

With 間(あいだ)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(あいだ)'s common meaning as 'an interval'.

Synonyms

Examples

--:--

    いつも眠(ねむ)っている間(あいだ)に歯軋(はぎし)りをしてしまう。

    I always grind my teeth while I'm asleep.

    私(わたし)が暇(ひま)な間(あいだ)に、電話(でんわ)をかけてください。

    Please call me while I am free.

    仕事(しごと)に行(い)くまでの間(あいだ)に掃除(そうじ)したかったけど無理(むり)だった。

    During the time that I had before going to work I wanted to clean, but it was not possible.

    私(わたし)が家(いえ)にいる間(あいだ)に、電話(でんわ)をかけてください。

    Please call me while I am at home.

    僕(ぼく)が東京(とうきょう)に行(い)っていた５年(ごねん)の間(あいだ)に、彼(かれ)は変(か)わってしまった。

    He had changed during the 5 years I was in Tokyo.

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      の間に – Grammar Discussion

      Most Recent Replies (23 in total)

      • willemvanhazendonk

        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?

      • casual

        casual

        I have a question about the last review sentence.

        The article says:

        When 間に is being used to express the period/space ‘until’ something happens/exists, it will be paired with まで.

        And both examples in the article indeed use まで.
        But the last review sentence doesn’t:

        今日の午後の2時から3時の間には、荷物が届くだろう。

        Are both options correct? Or is まで required?

      • Fuga

        Fuga

        Hey @casual !

        Since 間に in this sentence is used to express the period/space ‘until’ something happens/exists, までに is required here, so we have fixed this sentence!

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