How to Say ‘About’ in Japanese
くらい
kurai
[koo-rai]
💬 Usage Tip: [くらい] means “about/approximately.” It softens numbers: [五分くらい] = “about 5 minutes.”
🇯🇵 In Japan: Japanese speakers often prefer approximate phrasing like [くらい] to avoid sounding overly exact.
Phrase Breakdown
くらい
kurai
[koo-rai]
about / around (approx.)
Used after numbers/time to soften it: １０分くらい (about 10 minutes). Very common in giving directions.
ここから駅まで十分くらいです。
It’s about 10 minutes from here to the station.
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