间 (jiān) is a Chinese character meaning “between”. It is written from 门 (door; gate) and 日 (sun; day), one enclosing the other, and takes 7 strokes. It has a second reading, jiàn, which turns up in 间接 — here the two readings are two separate things to learn, not one card with two answers.
Build the character for “between; space”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
门 + 日
Enclosing structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 閒，隙也。从門从月；今通行字形「間/间」门中作「日」
Memory aid
Daylight (日) showing through a gateway (门): what you see is the gap in between.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 时间shí jiāntime; period of time间 = jiānHSK 1
- 房间fáng jiānroom间 = jiānHSK 1
- 坊间fāng jiānamong the people; on the street; in the marketplace间 = jiān
Go deeper
All readings
between; space
between; among; within a given space or stretch of time; a room
两者当中；一定的空间或时间范围之内；也指屋子里隔开的单间。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 时间shí jiāntime; period of time间 = jiānHSK 1
- 房间fáng jiānroom间 = jiānHSK 1
- 坊间fāng jiānamong the people; on the street; in the marketplace间 = jiān
gap; to separate
a gap; to space apart; to separate; not direct
空隙；隔开；不直接。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 间接jiàn jiēindirect; indirectly间 = jiànHSK 4
- 间谍jiàndiéspy间 = jiàn
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 间 mean?
间 (jiān) means between; among; within a given space or stretch of time; a room.
How do you pronounce 间?
Its main reading is jiān. It also has a second reading, jiàn, which only shows up in certain words such as 间接 — so the word tells you the reading, not the character on its own.
Why is 间 sometimes pronounced jiàn?
Because it is a multi-reading character: each reading carries a different sense, and the word decides which one applies. In 间接 it is read jiàn.
What parts is 间 made of?
门 (door; gate) and 日 (sun; day), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 閒，隙也。从門从月；今通行字形「間/间」门中作「日」. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 间 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 间?
门. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 间?
Common ones are 时间 and 房间. The reading of 间 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.