TSUMUGU · TOCFL 1 (est.) · 字
間
ㄐㄧㄢ · jiān/jiàn
noun — between; measure — a room; (jiàn) gap, to set apart
字源 FORM — what the parts do
A shut door (門) with light (日) showing through — the older graph 閒 puts the moon (月) there. Light gets in only where there is a gap: the space between, 中間、之間; rooms counted opening by opening, 一間房; read jiàn, the gap itself — 間隔、間接.
故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by
半夜醒來，門（門）縫裡漏進一線月光，落在地上。
Waking at midnight — a thread of moonlight through the door (門) crack, laid on the floor.
字源記憶法
意 · Meanings
jiān
(引申)中間、之間— between — across the gap常用
→房間、一間— a room — counted by the bay常用
→時間、期間— a stretch of time — the span between
jiàn
(本義)縫隙、間隔— the crack, the gap
→間接、間斷— indirect; broken off — through a gap
→離間— to drive a wedge between
(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension