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

Both の間に and うちに can express 'while' or 'during', but are used in different contexts. の間に simply conveys the idea of 'while (A), (B)', e.g. 映画を観ている間に眠ってしまった ('I fell asleep while/during watching a movie.') In contrast, うちに carries the nuance of doing something during an ideal time or condition, e.g. 明るいうちに帰ろう ('Let's go home while it's light out.')

ついでに and の間に can both express the idea of 'while', but are used in different contexts. ついでに implies taking advantage of one action to do another, e.g. 買い物のついでに銀行に寄った ('I stopped by the bank while shopping.') の間に, by contrast, means 'during/while (A), (B)' without the added nuance of 'while you're at it' that comes with ついでに.

～ところに・～ところへ and の間に both express the idea of 'while', but with different nuance. ～ところに／へ emphasizes a scene or moment into which something else happens, e.g. ゲームをしているところへ兄が部屋に入ってきた ('While I was playing a game, my brother entered the room.') の間に, by contrast, simply describes one event taking place during another, without emphasizing a specific situation or setting.

とき expresses the time of an action or event, like the English 'when'. It can be used with nouns as in 雨の時 'when it rains', verbs as in 父が帰ってきた時 'when Dad came home', or adjectives as in 暑い時 'when it's hot'. In contrast, の間に is used with nouns, and describes a period within which something happens, similar to the English 'while' or 'during', e.g. 冬休みの間に ('during winter break').

間(あいだ) means 'period' or 'space', and in addition to its literal meaning, it is used in expressions meaning 'while' or 'between', e.g. 1月と4月の間に 'between January and April'. In the ているあいだに form, the focus is on something happening during another ongoing action. For example, 勉強しているあいだに電話がかかってきた ('The phone rang while I was studying.').

ながら attaches to verb stems to express performing one action simultaneously with another, e.g. 音楽を聴きながら走る 'listen to music while running'. In contrast, 間に can follow various words or phrases to express doing something while a certain state or condition persists, e.g. 若いうちにマラソンを走りたい ('I want to run a marathon while I'm young.').

ているところだ conveys that an action is in progress at that moment, with the nuance that the speaker is occupied with it, e.g. 映画を観ているところだ ('I'm in the middle of watching a movie.'). In contrast, の間に is used to express that something else happened at some point during the duration of that action, e.g. 映画を観ている間に父が帰ってきました ('My father came home while I was watching a movie.').

Both express a continued state or action, but are used differently. 中 attaches only to nouns and means 'in the middle of (A)', e.g. 会議中 ('in the middle of a meeting'), 使用中 ('in use'). の間に attaches to nouns (as-is), verbs/adjectives (with の removed), and な-adjectives (with な instead of の), and means 'while doing (A), (B)', e.g. 映画を観ている間に電話が鳴った ('While I was watching a movie, the phone rang.')

Both の間に and 最中に express 'while (A), (B)', but with slightly different nuance. 最中に is more emphatic, implying that (B) happened right in the middle of (A). In contrast, の間に simply states that (B) occurred during the general span of (A), and sounds more objective.