くらい ①
Meanings
- About
- Approximately
About this pattern
Explanation
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.
Learn in context
Example sentences
I’ll leave at about three o’clock.
It’s about five thousand yen.
It will take about three weeks.
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More N5 patterns
to be; is; equals; identifies as
View detailsto be; is; am; used to state something politely
View detailsAs for... (highlights sentence topic); Topic marker used to indicate what the sentence is about; Marks the topic of the sentence, sometimes with contrast
View detailsalso; too; as well; even; either; neither
View detailsthis (near the speaker); this thing; this one
View detailsthat; that thing (near the listener); the thing referred to earlier
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