★間に = あいだに = aidani
*How to form:
* noun + の ( = no) + 間に ( aida ni)
Ex. 休み時間の間に
= yasumi jikan no aida ni
= During the break
* verb (dictionary form / progressive form ている ( = teiru) ) / + 間に ( aida ni)
Ex. マギーがいる間に／いない間に
= Maggie ga iru aida ni / inai aida ni
= While Maggie is here / is gone
Ex. 寝ている間に
= Nete iru aida ni
= While sleeping
*How to use: ~ 間に ( = aida ni ) ~
(1) While / During (A), you want to do something/ You have to do something.
→You choose that time period to do something. / You do something intentionally during the time period.
Let’s compare the following sentences:
Ex. 母がいない間、ゲームで遊んでいた。
= Haga ga inai aida, geemu de ason de ita.
= While my mother was away, I had been playing the game.
→The whole time when my mother was away, I was playing the game.
Ex. 母がいない間にゲームで遊んだ。
= Haha ga inai aida ni geemu de ason da.
= While my mom was away, I played the game.
→I would get in trouble if my mother found out I was playing the game too much so I took out the game as soon as my mom went out and played the game until she came back.
So you use 間に ( = aida ni) when you take advantage of the time to do something.
Ex. 休みの間に漢字を200個覚えた。
= Yasumi no aida ni kanji wo nihyakko oboeta.
= I learned 200 kanji during the holidays.
Ex. 親が出かけている間に部屋の片付けをしないといけない。
= Oyaga dekakete iru aida ni heya no katazuke wo shinai to ikenai.
= I have to clean up my room when my parents are away.
Ex. マギー先生が寝ている間におやつをとった人は誰ですか？
= Maggie sensei ga nete iru aida ni oyatsu wo totta hito wa dare desu ka?
= Who took Maggie Sensei’s snack while she was sleeping?
Ex. 彼を待っている間にジュースを買いに行った。
= Kare wo matte iru aida ni juusu wo kaini itta.
= While I was waiting for him I went to buy juice.
Ex. 父がまだ元気な間に富士山を見せてあげたい。
= Chichi ga mada genki na aida ni fujisan wo misete agetai.
= I’d love to show my dad Mt.Fuji while he is still healthy and energetic.
Ex. 若い間にいろいろな国に旅行をしておいた方がいいよ。
= Wakai aida ni iroirona kuni ni ryokou wo shite oita hou ga ii.
= You should travel as much as possible while you are young.
Another usage is
(2) While / During (A), someone do/did something/ something happened.
So in this usage, you don’t control your action. You just state what happened during the time period.
Ex. 留守をしている間に宅急便が来た。
= Rusu wo shite iru aida ni takkyuubin ga kita.
= While I was away, the delivery service came.
Note: You can’t say
留守をしている間、宅急便が来た。(incorrect)
= Rusu wo shite iru aida, takkyuubin ga kita.
Because as we explained above, 宅急便が来た ( = takkyuubin ga kita) is just one time action.
Ex. 彼は知らない間に出かけてしまった。
= Kare wa shiranai aida ni dekakete shimatta.
= I was gone before he realized it.
(* You can also say 知らぬ間に ( = shiranu mani ) )
Ex. 喫茶店でお茶を飲んでいる間に雨がやんでいた。
= Kissaten de ocha wo nonde iru aida ni ame ga yande ita.
= It stopped raining while I was having a cup of tea at the coffee shop.
You can also indicate certain time period
Ex. ここ２ヶ月の間に随分日本語が上達してきた。
= Koko nikagetsu no aida ni zuibun nihongo ga joutatsu shite kita.
