1.
unlucky; unfortunately timed
Describes a situation where the timing is bad or one encounters an inconvenient coincidence.
間が悪いことに雨が降ってきた。
Unfortunately, it started to rain at the worst time.
間が悪く、店はもう閉まっていた。
As bad luck would have it, the store had already closed.
間が悪いときに電話が鳴って、会議が中断された。
The phone rang at the worst possible moment and the meeting was interrupted.
2.
awkward; embarrassing
Feeling uncomfortable or embarrassed because of an unfortunate encounter or situation.
悪口を言っているところを本人に聞かれて間が悪かった。
I felt awkward because the person overheard me talking badly about them.
元カノに偶然会って間が悪かった。
I ran into my ex-girlfriend by chance and it was awkward.
嘘をついたのがばれて、非常に間が悪い思いをした。
My lie was found out and I felt terribly embarrassed.
USAGE:
Sense 1 describes bad timing or unfortunate coincidences, often used with ことに as 間が悪いことに (as bad luck would have it). Sense 2 describes the feeling of embarrassment when caught in an uncomfortable situation.
CONTRAST:
- 間がいい (good timing; lucky) is the positive counterpart
- 気まずい focuses more on interpersonal awkwardness, while 間が悪い emphasizes the element of bad timing