晚间
wǎnjiān · HSK 7
evening
🌆🌙 晚 evening + 间 interval = the evening stretch of the day
晚 means evening or late; 间 means an interval or span of time. Together 晚间 marks the block of hours that count as evening or night, as in an evening news broadcast.
晚 — sun 日 + 免 (avoid/phonetic)
晚 combines 日 (sun) as the meaning component with 免 as the phonetic. The sun element signals a time of day, while 免 hints at the pronunciation wǎn. Originally it referred to the late part of the day when the sun is setting, and from there extended to mean 'late' in a general sense.
间 — gate 門 + sun 日 (originally moon 月)
Originally written 閒, showing the moon 月 shining through a gate 門 — the gap or space between the doors. The moon was later replaced by 日 (sun), giving the modern 间. The core meaning 'space/interval between' extended to time intervals, rooms, and the measure word for buildings.