'间隔' (jiàn gé) is a noun meaning 'interval', 'gap', or 'spacing' — the measurable distance or time between two things or events. The first character 间 (jiàn) means 'between' or 'among', often indicating a spatial or temporal middle point; the second character 隔 (gé) means 'to separate' or 'to partition', emphasizing division or separation. Together, they form a compound that stresses the measurable, often regular, separation — whether physical (e.g., distance between fence posts), temporal (e.g., time between bus arrivals), or abstract (e.g., pauses in speech).

This word is commonly used in formal, technical, and descriptive contexts: scheduling, design, data analysis, music theory (e.g., pitch intervals), and scientific writing. It implies intentionality or structure — unlike more casual terms like '空儿' (kòngr, 'free time'), '间隔' suggests a defined, often quantifiable, break or space. It rarely appears in highly colloquial speech but is frequent in written Chinese, signage, and instructions.