What does ～ごろ mean? Japanese grammar N5

Forming it

How to use it

Attach after a point in time to say "around that time" when you don't want to be exact.

• Compare with 「ぐらい／くらい」: 「ごろ」 is used with a POINT in time (3時ごろ = around 3 o'clock), while 「ぐらい」 is used with a QUANTITY (3時間ぐらい = about 3 hours).
• After 「ごろ」, 「に」 is usually still kept when the sentence needs to indicate a point in time: 「昼ごろに電話します」; dropping 「に」 is also fine.

Examples

• 昼(ひる)ごろに電話(でんわ)してください。

  Please call me around noon.

• 彼(かれ)は十(じゅう)歳(さい)ごろに日本(にっぽん)へ来(き)ました。

  He came to Japan at around ten years old.

Keep in mind

• Written in kanji as 「頃」 but usually left in hiragana.

Common mistakes

• Wrong三(さん)時間(じかん)ごろ勉強(べんきょう)しました。

  I studied for about three hours.

  Correct三(さん)時間(じかん)ぐらい勉強(べんきょう)しました。

  「ごろ」 is only used with a POINT in time. To talk about a DURATION (three hours), you must use 「ぐらい」.

• Wrong昼(ひる)ごろで電話(でんわ)してください。

  Please call me around noon.

  Correct昼(ひる)ごろに電話(でんわ)してください。

  To indicate a point in time, use 「に」, not 「で」 (「で」 marks a place or means).

Exam tips

• ごろ = around a POINT in time; ぐらい = around a QUANTITY.

Related patterns

• ～ぐらい／くらい
• ～まで