JapaneseJLPT
JLPT N5 grammar · Chapter 6

～ごろ

Around a point in time

You’ll be able to say approximately when something happens without giving an exact time.

Illustration of the scene described by I get up around seven every morning.
Read it first

毎朝まいあさ七時しちじごろ起おきます。

maiasa shichi-ji goro okimasu.

What do you think this sentence means?

I get up around seven every morning.

Why it means that

Make a time approximate

Add ごろ after a point in time to mean “around” or “about.” It tells the listener roughly when something happens rather than giving an exact time.

Example

九時くじごろ寝ねます。

ku-ji goro nemasu.

I go to bed around nine.

How it is built

Point in time + ごろ

Put ごろ directly after a clock time, day, month, year, or another point on the calendar. The particle に is often omitted after a ごろ phrase, as in the examples here.

Point in time+ごろ
Examples

午後ごご三時さんじごろ家いえに帰かえります。

gogo san-ji goro ie ni kaerimasu.

I return home around three in the afternoon.

来年らいねんの三月さんがつごろ日本にほんへ行いきます。

rainen no san-gatsu goro nihon e ikimasu.

I’ll go to Japan around March next year.

夜よる十一時じゅういちじごろ寝ねます。

yoru juuichi-ji goro nemasu.

I go to bed around eleven at night.

Compare

ごろ vs くらい・ぐらい

Use ごろ for an approximate point on the clock or calendar. Use くらい or ぐらい for an approximate amount or length of time.

  • Point in time, ごろ

    七時しちじごろ起おきます。

    shichi-ji goro okimasu.

    I get up around seven.

    Seven o’clock is a point on the clock.

  • Duration, ぐらい

    七時間しちじかんぐらい寝ねます。

    shichi-jikan gurai nemasu.

    I sleep for about seven hours.

    Seven hours is a length of time.

Examples

毎朝まいあさ六ろく時半じはんごろ起きおきます。

maiasa roku-ji han goro okimasu.

I get up around 6:30 every morning.

八はち時じごろ学校がっこうへ行きいきます。

hachi-ji goro gakkou e ikimasu.

I go to school around eight.

十じゅう二に時じごろ昼ひるごはんを食べたべます。

juuni-ji goro hirugohan o tabemasu.

I eat lunch around noon.

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