どのくらい・ぐらい

## What it means どのくらい asks "how much" or "how long" when you don't know the amount or duration ahead of time. ぐらい, also written くらい, means "about" or "approximately," and it gets attached after a number or amount you already have in mind.

## When to use it どのくらい often appears near the front of a question, like 学校までどのくらいかかりますか (about how long does it take to get to school). ぐらい/くらい attaches right after a quantity, like 三十分ぐらい (about thirty minutes) or 三人くらい (about three people). Both point to rough amounts, not exact ones.

## Don't confuse it with ぐらい marks an approximate amount or duration, while ごろ marks an approximate point in time. 三時ごろ means "around three o'clock," but 三時間ぐらい means "about three hours." Mixing these two up is one of the most common N5 mistakes.