also: たにあい
Geographical sense: a deep narrow valley between mountains. Both たにま and たにあい readings are used.
The village was in a deep valley.
I can hear the sound of the river flowing through the ravine.
Only with reading たにま
Colloquial use, restricted to reading たにま. Refers to the cleavage between breasts.
She wore a dress that emphasized her cleavage.
gap; blind spot; trough; lull
Only with reading たにま
Figurative use, restricted to reading たにま. Refers to a gap, blind spot, or low point in various contexts: economic trough, lull in activity, gap in work, or bottom of society.
In the economic trough, many companies are struggling.
The challenge is how to fill the gaps in our work.
This village lies in a valley between the mountains.
That dress has a deep neckline, so her cleavage shows.
In this economic trough, many companies are struggling.
渓谷 is a formal, literary term for a river gorge, whereas 谷間 is the everyday word and can also mean cleavage or a figurative gap.
谷間 is the common everyday word for a valley, whereas 狭間 in this sense is more literary and often appears in place names.
狭間 means a narrow gap between two things (often abstract, like a border between eras), while 谷間 more specifically evokes a valley shape or a dip/trough, so learners can mix them up in figurative use.
谷間 means the valley or gap between mountains, while 谷川 is the stream flowing through such a valley.
cleavage (between breasts)
Standard kanji spelling for the reading たにま. High-frequency news word.
Alternate spelling for the reading たにあい, used for the geographical valley sense.
Compound of 谷 (tani, 'valley') and 間 (ma, 'space, gap'). The reading たにあい is a less common variant using the kun'yomi of 間 (あい).