How to Say ‘About how much longer will it take?’ in Japanese
あとどのくらいかかりそうですか？
ato dono kurai kakari sou desu ka
[ah-toh doh-noh koo-rah-ee kah-kah-ree soh dess kah]
💬 Usage Tip: Put あと in front of an amount to mean "more" or "remaining", as in あと五分 (ato go-fun) "five more minutes".
Phrase Breakdown
あとどのくらい
ato dono kurai
about how much longer
あと means 'remaining,' and どのくらい means 'how much/long.' Say it a-to-do-no-ku-ra-i.
あとどのくらい待ちますか？
How much longer will we wait?
Words in this phrase
あと
ato
[ah-toh]
just a little more; almost
Means only a small amount remained before something happened.
あと少しで入った。
It almost went in.
どの
dono
[doh-noh]
how; what amount
Used with another word to ask “how much” or “how long.”
どのくらいかかりますか、と聞きます。
You ask, “How long will it take?”
くらい
kurai
[koo-rah-ee]
about; approximately; around
Used with size words to mean approximately that level or degree.
中くらいのくらいはだいたいの大きさです。
The kurai in chuu kurai means an approximate size.
かかりそうですか？
kakari sou desu ka
does it look like it will take?
かかる means 'to take (time),' and 〜そう means 'looks like.' Raise your voice on the final か.
時間がかかりそうですか？
Does it look like it will take time?
Words in this phrase
かかり
kakari
[kah-kah-ree]
take; require
Verb stem meaning to take time or cost money.
駅までどのくらいかかりますか。
How long does it take to the station?
そう
sou
[soh]
seems likely; looks like
Added after a verb stem to show something seems likely to happen soon.
雨が降りそうです。
It looks like it’s going to rain.
です
desu
[dess]
is; polite copula
A polite sentence ending used in formal conversation.
少し伺いたいです。
I would like to ask a little.
か
ka
[kah]
question marker
Placed at the end of a sentence to make it a question.
A席はありますか。
Are there A seats available?
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