Practice JLPTHow to tell them apart
ごろ marks an approximate point in time, while くらい marks an approximate quantity, amount, or duration. Use ごろ with clock times, dates, or months like 六月ごろ; use くらい with prices, counts, or lengths of time like 百五十万円くらい or 四ヶ月くらい. Swapping them is unnatural because ごろ does not attach to quantities and くらい does not attach to a single point on the clock.
- ごろ Use ごろ when you mean around a specific point in time like a clock time or month.
- くらい Use くらい when you mean approximately for quantities, prices, or durations.
ごろ goro
Around (time)
About; around | Approximately (with a specific point of time).
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A:いつごろ北京に行きますか。B:来年の六月ごろ行きます。
A: About when are you going to Beijing? B: I'm going there around June of next year.
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A:今朝は何時ごろまで寝ていましたか。B:十時ごろまで寝ていました。
A: Until about what time were you asleep this morning?B: I was asleep until about 10 o'clock.
くらい kurai
About/Approximately
Approximately; about | Approximate quantity or extent.
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A:その車はいくらぐらいでしたか。 B:百五十万円くらいでした。
A: About how much was that car? B: It was about 1,500,000 yen.
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スミスさんは京都に 四ヶ月くらい行っていました。
Mr. Smith was in Kyoto for about four months.
ごろ and くらい are both JLPT N5 grammar points that Japanese learners often mix up. This page compares them side by side — meanings, usage and example sentences — so you can tell them apart.