JapaneseJLPT
JLPT N4 grammar · Chapter 9

だいたい

Roughly, approximately, or the general gist

You'll be able to give rough estimates for numbers and time, or state that you grasp the main outline of something.

Illustration of the scene described by It is about twenty minutes to the station.
Read it first

駅えきまでだいたい二十分にじゅっぷんです。

eki made daitai nijuppun desu.

What do you think this sentence means?

It is about twenty minutes to the station.

Why it means that

Give an approximate amount or general picture

だいたい means approximately or in broad outline. It is useful when an exact number or every detail is unnecessary.

Example

話はなしはだいたい分わかりました。

hanashi wa daitai wakarimashita.

I understood the general idea of the story.

How it is built

Form and use だいたい

Use it before a number for an estimate, or with 分わかる for general understanding. It does not promise exactness and is not the same as “all without exception.”

だいたい+Quantity or predicate
Examples

話はなしはだいたい分わかりました。

hanashi wa daitai wakarimashita.

I understood the general idea of the story.

毎朝まいあさだいたい七時しちじに起おきます。

maiasa daitai shichiji ni okimasu.

I get up at around seven every morning.

Examples

家いえから会社かいしゃまで、だいたい四十分よんじゅっぷんかかります。

ie kara kaisha made, daitai yonjuppun kakarimasu.

It takes roughly forty minutes to get from my home to the office.

この仕事しごとはだいたい三時間さんじかんで終おわります。

kono shigoto wa daitai sanjikan de owarimasu.

This job takes about three hours to finish.

毎晩まいばんだいたい十一時じゅういちじに寝ねます。

maiban daitai juuichiji ni nemasu.

I usually go to bed around eleven every night.

7 more examples in the grammar path — free for a limited time.