間隔
かんかく · kankaku · JLPT N3 · noun
space
↔️ 間隔 = gap 間 + separation 隔: the distance kept between two things
間 (kan) means between or gap, as in 時間 jikan, time. 隔 (kaku) means to separate, as in 隔離 kakuri, isolation. Together they give a measured gap. Pun: kan-kaku sounds like can-cut, as if you can cut a space between things.
隔 — 阜 (mound 阝) + 鬲 (cauldron, phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The left element 阝 (mound/hill) suggests a barrier or separation, while 鬲 (an ancient three-legged cauldron) supplies the sound. The original sense of being blocked off by terrain extended to today's meanings of 'separate,' 'partition,' or 'at an interval.'