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How to Say ‘It's about five minutes on foot.’ in Japanese

歩いて五分ぐらいです。

arui te go pun gurai desu

[ah-ROO-ee teh goh poon goo-RAI desu]

💬 Usage Tip: 五分 is said (go-fun), not (go-pun). ぐらい means "about" and comes after the amount: 十分ぐらい (juppun gurai) "about ten minutes".

Phrase Breakdown

歩いて

arui te

on foot / walking

The te-form of 歩く (to walk), meaning 'by walking'. Say 'a-ru-i-te'.

Example

歩いて学校に行きます。

I walk to school.

Words in this phrase

歩い

arui

[ah-ROO-ee]

walk (te-stem)

Form of 歩く 'to walk' before the te ending; 'on foot'.

Example

駅まで歩いて行きます。

I'll walk to the station.

て

te

[teh]

and; -te form

A linking form used to connect verbs to following grammar, such as progressive or polite forms.

Example

仕事を探している人と話しました。

I spoke with a person who is looking for work.

五分ぐらいです。

go pun gurai desu

it's about five minutes.

五分 (gofun) means 'five minutes', and ぐらい means 'about'. Say 'go-fun gu-rai des'.

Example

電車で十分ぐらいです。

It's about ten minutes by train.

Words in this phrase

五

go

[goh]

five

The number 5; combines with 時 to make five o'clock.

Example

五人で話しました。

Five people talked.

分

pun

[poon]

minute(s)

Counter for minutes; read ぷん after 十.

Example

五分待ってください。

Please wait five minutes.

ぐらい

gurai

[goo-RAI]

about; approximately

Placed after a number or amount to show it is an estimate; a variant of くらい.

Example

十分ぐらい待ちました。

I waited about ten minutes.

です

desu

[desu]

is; polite ending

A polite sentence ending often used to soften statements.

Example

キャンセルしたいです。

I want to cancel.

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