くらい (kurai) Meaning Japanese Grammar - About

The term くらい (kurai) means about, approximately, around or to the extent.

There is another form ぐらい (gurai) commonly used in spoken language.

In this post we learn more about the meaning of くらい, how it is formed, and when くらい is used through real example sentences.

How くらい is formed

くらい can be transcribed into kanji: 位(くらい) whose meaning is rank, or grade of something.

Counters or numeric suffixes are parts of the language used to count things in various categories. In the previous sentence we have found the counter for the minutes 分(ふん) and for the hours we use 時(じ).

• number + counter: 5時(じ)12分(ふん)

Literally: Anyone can do such a simple job.

How and when くらい is used

くらい is used to describe an approximate quantity or amount, a certain size or an estimation. くらい expresses time duration, distance, length and quantity

くらい expressing low degree

くらい expressing high degree

どのぐらい to ask time duration

If we need to ask how long it takes to go from one place to another, we use the question word どのぐらい.

It is also used to express quantity of something or an amount.

You could ask a friend who came to visit your city:

どのぐらい + particle の when followed by a noun. どのぐらい is also used with the meaning of to what extent?

同(おな)じぐらい

同(おな)じ means same, equivalent and combined with ぐらい becomes roughly the same, about the same.

Examples of くらい

円(えん) is the the counter for the currency of Japan: Yen

本(ほん) counter for thin and long things

In the sentence we find the verb はまる referring to something that pleases and excites, captures the attention and engages to the point of becoming addicted. In this case we are talking about the release of a new version of the Play Station.