1.
for a period of; over the span of
Suffix attaching to a time-unit phrase to express duration ('for X days/weeks/years'). Makes the time expression explicitly a span rather than a point in time.
三日間休んだ。
I rested for three days.
一週間旅行に行く。
I'll go on a trip for one week.
留学中の三年間は、人生で最も大切な時期だった。
The three years I spent studying abroad were the most important period of my life.
Attaches to time-unit counters to mark a duration. Compare 十日 (the tenth of the month) vs. 十日間 (for ten days).
COMMON COMPOUNDS:
- 一週間: for one week
- 三日間: for three days
- 十年間: for ten years
- 数時間: for several hours
- 長い間: for a long time (read あいだ, not かん)
USAGE:
Not used with point-in-time expressions (三時, 月曜日). When the time unit already implies duration (時間, 年間), 間 is built in and not added again.
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 間: interval; while — different reading, refers to the time/space between two points