N5 — outside your level filter
くらい
くらいkuraiN5neutral
Same meaning13
more than; the most
- だけましだat least X — a bad situation beats the worse alternativeattaches at
- ほどto the point of ...; to such an extent that ...attaches at
- ほど〜ないnot as … asattaches at
- いちばんthe most; number oneattaches at
- 以上にmore than; even more than — passes the level it's measured againstattaches at
- くらいならrather than ... — the speaker settles for anything over the option namedattaches at
- に限るnothing beats X; the best thing to do is Xattaches at
- に越したことはないnothing is better than X; the more/better X, the betterattaches at
- に比べてcompared to N; in comparison with Nattaches at
- のほうがis more …; the … one of the twoattaches at
- というよりrather than saying ...; more like ...attaches at
- 割にconsidering ...; more/less than expected given ...attaches at
- よりthan; compared toattaches at
All examples11
about; to the extent that — softens a quantity into an estimate
あと五分ぐらいで着くよ。
ato gofun gurai de tsuku yo.
I'll be there in about five more minutes. casual
駅まで歩いて十五分くらいかかります。
eki made aruite juugofun kurai kakarimasu.
It takes about fifteen minutes to walk to the station. neutral
明日は七時くらいに家を出ます。
ashita wa shichiji kurai ni ie o demasu.
Tomorrow I'll leave the house at around seven. neutral
so … that; enough to — names how far something goes
最後の一問を落として、泣くくらい悔しかった。
saigo no ichimon o otoshite, naku kurai kuyashikatta.
I got the last question wrong and it stung enough to cry. neutral
涙が出るくらい嬉しかった。
namida ga deru kurai ureshikatta.
I was so happy I nearly cried. neutral
手が痛いくらい冷たい水だった。
te ga itai kurai tsumetai mizu datta.
The water was cold enough to be painful on the hands. neutral
立っていられないくらい会場は混雑しておりました。
tatte irarenai kurai kaijou wa konzatsu shite orimashita.
The venue was so crowded one could barely stay standing. formal
at least; something as small as — presents N as a trivial minimum
遅れるなら電話くらいしてよ。
okureru nara denwa kurai shite yo.
If you're going to be late, the least you could do is call. casual
買い物くらいなら、こちらでお引き受けできますよ。
kaimono kurai nara, kochira de ohikiuke dekimasu yo.
If it's only the shopping, we can take care of that for you. formal
about as big or old as — measured against something familiar
川原で、にぎりこぶしくらいの石を拾ってきた。
kawara de, nigirikobushi kurai no ishi o hirotte kita.
I picked up a stone about the size of a fist down by the river. neutral
受付には、小学生ぐらいの男の子が立っていました。
uketsuke ni wa, shougakusei gurai no otokonoko ga tatte imashita.
A boy of about primary-school age was standing at the reception desk. neutral
How it's formed5
All forms10
ぐらいguraicolloquial
味わうぐらい
fully interchangeable; ぐらい is more spoken, くらい is the safer pick for writing.
くらいだkuraidaalternant
味わうくらいだ
closes the sentence on the extent instead of modifying what follows — 涙が出るくらいだ, "it's enough to bring tears."
ぐらいだguraidacolloquial
味わうぐらいだ
the voiced spelling, on the same closing shape — もう一度見に行きたいぐらいだ.
くらいのkuraino＋名詞adnominal
sits in front of a noun to measure it — 豆くらいの大きさ, 自転車ぐらいのスピード, 小学生ぐらいの男の子.
くらいではkuraidehaalternant
adds は to dismiss the amount as too little to matter — 一日休んだくらいでは疲れは取れない.
かと思うくらいkatoomoukuraialternant
puts a passing thought where the benchmark goes — 凍るかと思うくらい寒かった, "it was so cold I thought I'd freeze."
くらいにkurainialternant
adds に after a clock time, which careful Japanese keeps (七時くらいに出ます). Casual speech drops it, writing doesn't.
くらいならkurainaraalternant
the small-amount くらい in front of なら, granting just that much (買い物くらいなら引き受けられる). After a plain verb, the same kana usually mean くらいなら's refusal instead.
- pastくらいだったkuraidatta
味わうくらいだった
- politeくらいですkuraidesu
味わうくらいです
Notes
(Bほど高くない) and only くらい minimizes. ぐらい and くらい are the
same word; the old this/that-vs-noun split is dead.