How to Say ‘About how many minutes on foot?’ in Japanese
歩いて何分ぐらいですか。
arui te nan pun gurai desu ka
[ah-roo-ee teh nan foon goo-rye deh-soo kah]
💬 Usage Tip: 歩いて (aruite) means "by walking," the "-te" form of 歩く "to walk." Swap it for other ways of travel: 車で何分ぐらいですか "About how many minutes by car?"
Phrase Breakdown
歩いて
arui te
on foot / by walking
歩いて (aruite) comes from 歩く ('to walk') and means 'by walking.' Say 'a-ru-i-te.'
歩いて行きます。
I'll go on foot.
Words in this phrase
歩い
arui
[ah-roo-ee]
walk (te-form stem)
Part of the te-form 歩いて, meaning “walking / on foot.” Used with time: 歩いて5分 (5 minutes on foot).
駅まで歩いて五分です。
It’s a five-minute walk to the station.
て
te
[teh]
te-form ending
The て ending attaches to a verb stem to make the て-form. It links clauses and is used in many patterns (requests, permission, progress, etc.).
ここに座っていいです。
You may sit here.
何分ぐらいですか。
nan pun gurai desu ka
about how many minutes is it?
何分 (nanpun) means 'how many minutes,' and ぐらい (gurai) means 'about.' Raise your tone slightly on 'ka.'
バスで何分ぐらいですか。
About how many minutes is it by bus?
Words in this phrase
何
nan
[nan]
how many
何 asks how many when used with a counter like 枚.
何枚必要ですか。
How many do you need?
分
pun
[foon]
minute(s)
Used after numbers to count minutes.
十五分かかります。
It takes fifteen minutes.
ぐらい
gurai
[goo-rye]
about; approximately
Means “about/around” when estimating time, distance, or amount. Very common for directions: “5分ぐらい,” “10分ぐらい.”
駅まで五分ぐらいです。
It’s about five minutes to the station.
です
desu
[deh-soo]
is; polite copula
です makes a sentence polite and neutral. With a place + は + noun, it states/asks what something is or where it is.
ここは地下鉄の駅です。
This is the subway station.
か
ka
[kah]
question particle
「か」で依頼を質問の形にします。語尾を上げると自然です。
手順を説明してもらえますか。
Could you explain the procedure?
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