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

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'.

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(ご)年(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.

Get more example sentences!
Premium users get access to 12 example sentences on all Grammar Points.
Try Bunpro

Self-Study Sentences

Study your own way!

Add sentences and study them alongside Bunpro sentences.

Try Bunpro

Online
- Difference between 間 and 間に
  JStackExchange
- Examples and formation
  Core 6000
- 間に
  LearnJapaneseDaily

Offline
- [DBJG] A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar
  Page 69
- Genki II 1st Edition
  Page 185
- Genki II 2nd Edition
  Page 216
Track Resources!
Bunpro tracks all of the resources you’ve visited, and offers relevant bookmarks of physical books to help with offline tracking.
Try Bunpro

の間に – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (24 in total)

mrnoone

English translation:
while, during, between

Structure:
Verb + 間に
いAdj + 間に
Noun・の + 間に
なAdj・な + 間に

View on Bunpro
ctlnctln
Regarding this example sentence: 私が暇なあいだに 、電話をかけてください。

Why is it wrong to say “私が暇なうちに、電話をかけてください” ?
mrnoone
It is not wrong and you can say it!

Though AうちB has a nuance, that it is best to do B during A (before situation changes, and likely will make B hard/impossible etc).

So,
Please, call me when I am free, because I will be busy or something and won’t be able to answer.

vs simple
Please, call me when I am free.

間 simply means period.
ctlnctln
thank you!
kozmegegyezes
Similar question!
私が家にいる間に、電話をかけてください。

May I ask why is
私が家にいるうちに、電話をかけてください。
wrong?

Based on your explanation, it sounds like うちに would actually be better here.
Thank you!
mrnoone

kozmegegyezes:

私が家にいる間に、電話をかけてください。

May I ask why is
私が家にいるうちに、電話をかけてください。

Hey and welcome on the community forums

Very well observed! You are right, “私が家にいるうちに、電話をかけてください。” is correct, and it has more emphasis than 間に.

(Simple “Please call me while you are at home” vs "Please call me while you are at home (because you won’t be able to do it when you are not there, or some other circumstances.)

You need to use 間 simply to advance the SRS. If you write うち the answer is considered correct (yellow) but the system asks for another solution.
kozmegegyezes
Thank you very much for your answer! I asked this specifically because when I typed “うちに” my answer was rejected, it was not yellow, so I got a little confused.
mrnoone

It turned out that only うち(by itself) has been added as the alternative answer! Now, うちに is also included, so it should work properly from now on!

Thank you very much for the feedback!
kozmegegyezes
Thank you very much!
kozmegegyezes
Hello!
I have another similar question!
For the sentence ちょっと見ない間に随分大人になってね。
why is ちょっと見ないうちに随分大人になってね。incorrect? (I just typed うちに and it rejected it.) I thought that their meaning is similar. I have asked about this on hinative and they told me うちに is correct. ( https://hinative.com/en-US/questions/14660891 )
So maybe there is a difference I’m unaware of? Thank you!!!
mrnoone
Hey

It is correct, it turns out that only うち (without に) was added as the alternative answer

I have fixed it so that うちに is now accepted!

Thank you very much for the feedback, and sorry for the inconvenience!
kozmegegyezes
Ah, I see! Thank you so much for the quick fix! I really appreciate it!
max99x

mrnoone:

間 simply means period.

I had some trouble understanding why 間 was usable in some examples (e.g. 仕事に行くまでの間に…), but this detail made it a lot easier to understand! Perhaps this literal meaning could be added to the grammar point’s meaning section? I think it would help other people understand it better too.
Jet
In the following example sentence の is used before that grammar point, which would follow the noun rule, but the sentence actually has a particle before the grammar (まで). Is there a general rule that means that this should be treated like a noun?

仕事しごとに行いくまでのあいだに掃除そうじしたかったけど無理むりだった
flowsnake
I came to ask exactly the same question!
Michakun
Hi, is there any difference between ３時から４時の間に and ３時から４時までに? I’m always confusing between both and always pick the wrong one (the second one).
mrnoone
@Michakun
Very long time no see!

X時からY時まで(not までに！) and X時からY時の間 are similar in that that both express range of time.

But the first one simply means “from X to Y” while X時からY時の間、B。has additional nuance, that something (B) continues over the period of time described by 間. Or in case of X時からY時の間にB. that in some moment during the range described by 間に something (B) happened.

このイベントは3時から4時までです。
This event is from 3 to 4.

3時から4時の間、テレビを見ていた。
I have been watching TV (constantly) between 3 and 4.
Expressions like ている・ていた and ずっと are often used with 間

3時から4時の間に、電話が鳴った。
Telephone rang (sometime) between 3 and for.

I hope it helps,
Cheers
Ambo100

A 間に B
B takes place, while A

The event B must be of short duration and properly contained within the bounds of activity
A. If B extends throughout the time when A Occurs, we use 間 instead of 間に.

I found this distinction in the Genki textbook helpful so I thought it would be worth sharing.
zyoeru
Can the following sentences be clarified:

この山とあの山の間の谷に、僕の実家がある。
背が高い二人の間に挟まれて、ちょっと嫌だった。

I understand that 間 can refer to space both temporal and spatial, but it seems to me that the focus of this point is largely temporal whereas these sentences are focusing on a spatial use (between mountains and between tall people).

Am I missing something?
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.