くらい ①

くらい is used to indicate an approximate amount, time, or extent. It shows that the speaker isn’t precise about the figure, just a rough estimate. It commonly follows numbers (or quantities) and time expressions. It can also appear after expressions that imply a rough amount, such as “about this much.” In everyday use, くらい is informal and appropriate for casual conversation and basic counting contexts. Note: くらい is often interchangeable with ~ぐらい in many cases, but くらい tends to be more colloquial.