隙すき間ま時じ間かん

す

き

ま

じ

か

ん

Meanings

noun

spare moment; free time; gap in one's schedule

Refers to small, often unexpected, pockets of free time between scheduled activities, such as waiting for a train or during a short break. Commonly used in productivity and time-management contexts.

通つう勤きんの隙すき間ま時じ間かんにスマホでニュースを読よんでいる。
I read the news on my smartphone during spare moments on my commute.
隙すき間ま時じ間かんを有ゆう効こう活かつ用ようして、単たん語ごを覚おぼえましょう。
Make effective use of your spare moments to memorize vocabulary.

See all 9 example sentences ›

Kanji

隙crevice, fissure, discord
間interval, space
時time, hour

Related words

暇ひま
暇 (ひま) means free time in a broader sense, often implying boredom or lack of things to do, while 隙間時間 specifically refers to short, intermittent gaps in a busy schedule.
空あき時じ間かん
空き時間 (あきじかん) is a more general term for free time or an open slot in one's schedule, not necessarily emphasizing the small, fragmented nature of 隙間時間.

Built from

隙すき間ま+時じ間かん

Written forms

隙すき間ま時じ間かん
Standard kanji spelling using 隙間 (gap) and 時間 (time).
スキマ時じ間かん
Mixed katakana-kanji spelling, common in casual writing and advertising.
すきま時じ間かん
Mixed hiragana-kanji spelling, softer than full kanji.

Etymology

Compound of 隙間 (すきま, 'gap, crevice') and 時間 (じかん, 'time'). The term likely emerged in modern Japanese to describe the concept of utilizing small gaps in one's daily schedule.