other N4 essential casualpolitewritten
〜頃 — around / about (a point in time)
〜頃 ・ ごろ
Meaning
- around ~ / about ~ — an approximate point in time
Key sentence
毎朝7時頃に起きます。
I get up at around 7 every morning.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun (a point in time) | time + 頃 | 3時 → 3時頃 |
When: Attaches only to a specific point in time (a clock time, a date, an era), not to a length of time.
Examples
子供の頃、よくこの川で遊んだ。
When I was a child, I often played in this river.
桜は4月の初め頃に咲く。
The cherry blossoms bloom around the beginning of April.
夜10時頃に電話します。
I'll call at around 10 p.m.
When you can't use it
- 頃 approximates a point in time. To approximate an amount, quantity, or duration, use ぐらい/くらい instead: 1時間ぐらい (about an hour) — not 1時間頃.
Easily confused with
Notes
- Often written in kana as ごろ. After の it also means 'the time/era of': 学生の頃 (one's student days).
See 〜頃 in real sentences
Jengo shows 〜頃 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 Basic Japanese Grammar.