particle N2 common casualpolitewritten
〜あたり — around ~ / approximately ~
〜あたり ・ あたり
Meaning
- around ~ / about ~ / somewhere near ~ — names an approximate point in space, time, or a quantity without committing to an exact figure
Key sentence
駅のあたりで待っています。
I'll be waiting somewhere around the station.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun (place / time / quantity) | N + あたり | 三時あたり / この辺り |
Examples
来週の水曜あたりはどうですか。
How about sometime around next Wednesday?
値段は一万円あたりだろう。
The price is probably somewhere around ten thousand yen.
胸のあたりが痛い。
It hurts around my chest.
Easily confused with
〜ごろ ごろ marks an approximate point in *time only* (三時ごろ 'around 3:00'); あたり approximates time, place, or quantity, and for time feels slightly vaguer/softer. 〜ぐらい ぐらい/くらい gives an approximate *amount or degree* (千円ぐらい 'about ¥1000'); あたり picks an approximate *point or vicinity* on a scale (この辺り 'around here').
Notes
- After a person/example noun, あたり can soften a suggestion to 'someone/something like ~': 君あたりが適任だ ('someone like you would be right for it').
See 〜あたり in real sentences
Jengo shows 〜あたり the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar. Editorial confidence: medium.