How to Say ‘About’ in Japanese
ぐらい
gurai
[goo-rye]
💬 Usage Tip: Softens numbers: [五分ぐらい] = “about five minutes.” Makes you sound natural, not robotic.
🇯🇵 In Japan: Using [ぐらい] is polite and realistic—exact times are hard in busy stations.
Phrase Breakdown
ぐらい
gurai
[goo-rye]
about; around; approximately
Used after numbers to give an estimate (time/distance). Common in answers to “どのぐらい…?”
地下鉄の駅まで十分ぐらいです。
It’s about 10 minutes to the subway station.
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