幕間|まくあいmakuai[0]heiban (flat)

1. nounintermission (between acts); interlude

• Related一息ひといきCasualColloquial. A brief pause to catch your breath, usable for any short stop, during a performance or anywhere else, whereas 「幕間」 names the interval between acts.
• Related一休みひとやすみCasualColloquial. A short rest in daily life; a common everyday word not limited to performances, so it does not specifically mean the interval between acts.
• Related休みやすみNeutralNeutral. The everyday all-purpose word for rest — holidays, days off, absence; far broader than 「幕間」 and not tied to the gaps between acts.
• Related休止きゅうしWrittenWritten/formal prose. An activity being temporarily halted, as in 「運転休止」; it concerns stopping operations, not a scheduled interval in a performance.
• RelatedタイムCasualColloquial loanword covering both 'time' and 'time-out'; as a pause, it is typically the time-out called in a game rather than a stage interval.
• Related中入りなかいりNeutralNeutral. An intermission partway through a theatre programme or a sumo day's schedule; in noh it also covers an actor leaving the stage mid-play.
• Related中休みなかやすみNeutralNeutral. A mid-way break in work or any ongoing activity, as in 「梅雨の中休み」; a general word, while 「幕間」 specifically names the gap between acts.

Use 「幕間」 for the break between acts of a play, as in 「幕間に弁当を食べる」; it can also figuratively mean a lull. For the intermission in a theatre or sumo programme, use 「中入り」; for rest in general, use 「休み」.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

1. ひとつの場面ばめんが終おわってから次つぎの場面ばめんに移うつるまでの、幕まくがおりている間あいだのこと。