HSK 3.0 Level 4 · Connectives

之间 zhījiān “between” in Chinese

Traditional 之間

What 之间 means

  1. between
  2. among
  3. (after a noun) between
  4. amid
  5. (used after certain bisyllabic words to form expressions indicating a short period of time, e.g. 弹指之间)

How to say 之间

  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale之zhī1st tone, high and level
  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale间jiān1st tone, high and level

之间 in a sentence

  1. 我们之间肯定有误会。

    Wǒmen zhījiān kěndìng yǒu wùhuì.

    There must be some misunderstanding between us.

    Sentence #1328039 from Tatoeba

  2. 我可以在茶和咖啡之间做个选择。

    Wǒ kěyǐ zài chá hé kāfēi zhījiān zuò ge xuǎnzé.

    I can choose between tea and coffee.

    Sentence #335009 from Tatoeba

  3. 这只是我们之间的秘密。

    Zhè zhǐshì wǒmen zhījiān de mìmì.

    This is just a secret between us.

    Sentence #813522 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 之间 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 之 (zhī) drawn as one shape
之zhīhim

之 is a single shape of 3 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.

The character 间 (jiān) with each of its parts in a different colour
间jiānbetween
  • 门gate · mén
  • 日sun · rì

Memory aidSunlight 日 coming through a gap in the gate 门: a gap, the space between, a room.

How to write 之间

之 3 strokes · 间 7 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

之间 (zhījiān) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 之间 (zhījiān). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 之间

Words with 之

之zhī · of (formal equivalent of 的)之后zhīhòu · after之前zhīqián · before百分之bǎifēnzhī · per cent总之zǒngzhī · in a word反之fǎnzhī · conversely之际zhījì · at the time of天伦之乐tiānlúnzhīlè · family happiness后顾之忧hòugùzhīyōu · worries back home当务之急dāngwùzhījí · top priority

Words with 间

间jiān · (measure word for rooms)时间shíjiān · time房间fángjiān · room中间zhōngjiān · middle洗手间xǐshǒujiān · toilet卫生间wèishēngjiān · bathroom期间qījiān · period of time空间kōngjiān · space间隔jiàngé · interval瞬间shùnjiān · instant

More words: Connectives & Grammar Words

可kě · but以上yǐshàng · above的话dehuà · if (ends a conditional clause)将jiāng · will并bìng · and者zhě · (suffix) person who …自zì · from性xìng · (suffix) -ness

FAQs

之间 (zhījiān) means “between” or “among”. It is an HSK 3.0 Level 4 word.
Say it zhījiān: zhī with a 1st tone, then jiān with a 1st tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 之间 is written 之間. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type zhijian with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 之间 from the suggestions. Typing zhijian into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
之间 is an HSK 3.0 Level 4 word in the official 2021 syllabus, and it is on our HSK 3.0 Band 6 word list. It is not on the older HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.