Departments
THE KANJI IN BETWEEN
間
You might think that you have a complete hold on this kanji after you learn the aida and KAN readings.
民間 （みんかん） private (sector)
中間 （ちゅうかん） middle
時間 （じかん） time
この間 （この あいだ） recently
間柄 （あいだがら）relations; relationship
間接 （かんせつ） indirect
The exceptions with this kanji are the KEN and ma readings. While these readings are rare among the total number of words that contain 間 , they appear in high-frequency words that you should be aware of:
人間 （にんげん） human being
隙間 （すきま） gap
居間 （いま） living room
間違い （まちがい） mistake
There is an additional kun reading, ai-, which is rare. The ai- reading is mostly limited to older/specialized vocabulary.
間判 （あいばん） medium size (printing)
間服 （あいふく） spring or fall attire