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字間. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
字間, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
字間 in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
字間 you have here. The definition of the word
字間 will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
字間, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Japanese
Etymology
字 (“character”) + 間 (“gap; in between”)
Pronunciation
Noun
字間 • (jikan)
- (typography) an intercharacter space, the white space between the bottom/right edge of one character and the top/left edge of the next character, corresponding to "tracking" in Western typography
- Coordinate terms: 行間 (gyōkan), 字送り (jiokuri), スペース (supēsu), 段間 (dankan), トラッキング (torakkingu)
Usage notes
- The only meaningful difference between 字間 (jikan) and トラッキング (torakkingu, “tracking”) is units. The unit for 字間 (jikan) is point or 歯 (ha) (absolutely relating to font size), while the unit for トラッキング (torakkingu) is em or unit per em (a thousandth of an em) (relatively relating to font size).
- The English tracking is sometimes mistranslated into Japanese as 字送り (jiokuri), which is distinct from 字間 (jikan) in that 字送り (jiokuri) includes the width or height of CJK characters (which always equals 1 em). Mathematically speaking, 字間 (jikan) = 字送り (jiokuri) - font size.