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Tim Page’s recent New Yorker essay “Parallel Play” contained this wonderful passage:
Falling in love surprised me; I had never imagined sustained contentment, and certainly not in the company of another person. Yet here it was: even making the bed together in the morning … took on meaning, as the prelude to another gloriously ordinary day, to be followed by tea, the newspapers, a couple hours of work, and then lunch in the neighborhood.
“Another gloriously ordinary day”! Life offers many more gloriously ordinary days than heightened moments. And yet we tend to focus on the big events, the mountaintops, somehow overlooking the valleys in between, the hours that make up our lives.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about death far more than I should. And as I do, the gloriously ordinary rituals have come to seem precious and terribly fleeting, even though they happen again and again. Savoring a milky cup of tea while lingering at the breakfast table, reading outside as the sunlight filters down through the trees, discovering abundant peaches and strawberries at the farmers’ market, and then, at the end of the day, seeing the dogs off to their beds with the same words I said the night before: “Good night! Sleep well! I love you!” … These sweet moments happen over and over, and yet they slip away just as quickly.
Hey, isn’t this blog supposed to be about kanji?!
Yes, yes, quite right. Sorry for the brief wallow in sentiment. But this discussion does relate directly to kanji, because 間, our old friend from last week, captures this sense of fleeting moments. That is, 間 (KAN, KEN, aida, ai, ma) frequently means “interval.” And there’s nothing as elusive as an interval! In some ways, it’s the part that doesn’t count. It’s the space between other objects, the cessation between moments of more “important” activity. So it’s easy to dismiss 間 as insignificant. And yet, from where I stand, 間 is the very stuff of life, the part that makes it worthwhile. That’s a lot of pressure to put on a little kanji, but I think the ubiquitous 間 can hold up just fine!
Words That Give One Pause
Although we commonly say, “Wait a minute!”, we don’t really mean someone should wait a full sixty seconds for us. We actually mean, “Wait a moment.” But how long is a moment … or an interval?
Japanese has an array of words for time intervals, including this straightforward term:
合間 (aima: time interval) interval + interval
As a prefix, 合- (ai-) means “interval,” in the sense of “time between.” For sample sentences featuring 合間, click the link below.
At least two more 間 compounds hint at intervals that are merely momentary:
瞬間 (shunkan: instant, moment) blink + interval
A moment is the time it takes to blink … or the time between blinks. Isn’t that wonderful? In either case, it’s not a very long time!
露の間 (tsuyunoma: a fleeting moment) dew + ‘s + interval
I’m tempted to think that 間 here is a measure of space—the distance between dewdrops. But the definition refers to a moment, so perhaps 露の間 is the moment between the time two dewdrops form.
By contrast, the following compound means “a long time,” though it’s hard to know just how long this truly is:
長時間 (chōjikan: a long time)
long + time (last 2 chars., which break down as hour + interval)Jim Breen‘s examples indicate that 長時間 needn’t imply an eternity. Rather, if a committee meeting drags on, if the earth seems to shake inordinately during a quake, and even if a woman takes her time choosing a hat, 長時間 can fit.
Here’s another compound denoting a sizable chunk of time:
期間 (kikan: term, period) period + interval
This word can refer to a season or even a span of years.
And here’s an amusing word with 間 as KAN:
夏時間 (natsu-jikan: daylight-saving time; summertime)
summer + time (last 2 chars.)This compound can mean “summertime,” as one might expect from the breakdown. But it also means “daylight-saving time,” even though “summer-saving time” would seem to be a closer translation!
One 間 word refers to a specific portion of the day:
昼間 (hiruma: daytime, day) daytime, noon + interval
Look at the profusion of 日 shapes here! Both characters have 日 tucked inside, as if it were a fragile egg in need of protection.
Whereas time seems like something to save (in the sense of 夏時間) or measure objectively (in 昼間), it has a negative connotation in one word:
手間 (tema: time (required for a task), labor, trouble)
hand + interval
In this word with a curious breakdown, time spent is time wasted. That’s particularly true when 手間 plays a part in the expression 手間仕事 (tema shigoto: “tedious work,” with 仕事 (shigoto: work) breaking down as to serve + business). But then look what happens when you combine 手間 with 片:
片手間 (katatema: in one’s spare time, on the side, odd job)
one-sided + hand + interval
The sense of tedium disappears. Getting an odd job (片手間) or having spare time (片手間) might even make one feel lucky.
For a Deeper Look into Matters of Time …
Breaks in the Weather
Sometimes an “interval” word relates to both time and weather, because the weather changes as time passes:
晴れ間 (harema: interval of clear weather) to clear up + interval
雨間 (ama-ai: interval between rains) rain + interval
雲間 (kumoma: a break between clouds) cloud + interval
Perhaps a pessimist (a glass-is-half-empty type) would use 雨間 (ama-ai), focusing gloomily on the time left before rain returns, whereas an optimist would delight in 晴れ間 (harema), a stretch of good weather. But who uses 雲間, which refers to both the time and space between clouds? Uncertain, I consulted Breen for sample sentences. Such beauties I found! Here are two, one about the sun, one about the moon:
太陽が雲間から顔を出した。
Taiyō ga kumoma kara kao o dashita.
The sun came out from behind the clouds.
月が青白い顔を雲間から見せ始めた。
Tsuki ga aojiroi kao o kumoma kara misehajimeta.
The moon began to show her pale face from behind the clouds.
For Breakdowns of the
Kanji in These Sentences …
And now you find yourself in just the right time interval for a Verbal Logic Quiz. We might take the word 力試し (chikaradameshi: quiz, power + test) and embellish it to create a word for “quiz interval”: 力試し間 (chikaradameshima, which would be a real mouthful!). In any case, it’s time to take a quiz!
