For the word じき meaning "soon", what is the difference between the kanjis 直 and 時期?


As discussed in [this](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/2896/921)
question, one meaning for `じき` is "soon, momentarily". Looking it up in my
(English/Japanese) dictionary, I found both the kanjis `時期` and `直` for it.

I looked them up further (online), and could only find the meaning of
`まっすぐであること` for `直{じき}`. Is my dictionary misleading me?

From just what I've seen, it seems like it's rarely written in kanji, and it
makes sense in my head that the kanji for `直{す}ぐ` would be used, so this
question is more academic than practical, but I'd still appreciate any insight
on it.




`直` and `時期` are completely unrelated, they just happen to both be written as
じき in hiragana.

時期 is simply means a period or instance of time like in 入学の時期 (when you enter
school), like 年末年始は一番忙しい時期です (the end and beginning of the year is the busiest
time period) or 今はその時期ではない (now is not the time).

直 can also be seen in the words like [直]{ただ}ちに . 直に however means "in a short
time" and can be replaced with もうすぐ (there also is the form もうじき). For
example, もうじき来るよ (he/she will be coming soon).

However, I should point out that the usage has become less common (I've never
heard anyone under 30 use 直 before) and you probably will hear it with older
people.

Also, one reason you probably see it in hiragana more is because there also is
[[直に]{じかに}](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch/0/0ss/108207100000/), like in
彼からじかに聞いた話 (a story I directly heard from him), so there probably is a
tendency to disambiguate the two.

**Side Note**

In the linked question, the selected answer says:

> じき means temporally farther than すぐ

That is totally wrong. They are equivalent in meaning.




`直` and `時期` are completely unrelated, they just happen to both be written as
じき in hiragana.

時期 is simply means a period or instance of time like in 入学の時期 (when you enter
school), like 年末年始は一番忙しい時期です (the end and beginning of the year is the busiest
time period) or 今はその時期ではない (now is not the time).

直 can also be seen in the words like [直]{ただ}ちに . 直に however means "in a short
time" and can be replaced with もうすぐ (there also is the form もうじき). For
example, もうじき来るよ (he/she will be coming soon).

However, I should point out that the usage has become less common (I've never
heard anyone under 30 use 直 before) and you probably will hear it with older
people.

Also, one reason you probably see it in hiragana more is because there also is
[[直に]{じかに}](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch/0/0ss/108207100000/), like in
彼からじかに聞いた話 (a story I directly heard from him), so there probably is a
tendency to disambiguate the two.

**Side Note**

In the linked question, the selected answer says:

> じき means temporally farther than すぐ

That is totally wrong. They are equivalent in meaning.

