Translation guide
The English word "about" has many uses. This guide covers the most common ones for learners: approximation, topic, movement, and more.
Expressing an approximate number, time, or amount.
Placed before a number or quantity. Neutral and widely used.
It takes about 10 minutes.
約100人が参加した。
About 100 people participated.
Attached after a number or quantity. Casual and very common in speech.
10分くらい待って。
Wait about 10 minutes.
100人くらい来た。
About 100 people came.
Same as くらい, but often used after certain sounds for euphony. Interchangeable in many cases.
10分ぐらいで着くよ。
I'll arrive in about 10 minutes.
More formal than 約. Often used in written or formal contexts.
およそ3000年前の遺跡です。
It's a ruin from about 3000 years ago.
Means 'almost' or 'nearly', but can translate to 'about' when emphasizing closeness to a number.
ほぼ全員が賛成した。
About everyone agreed.
Introducing the subject or topic of conversation.
The most common way to say 'about (a topic)'. Attach to a noun.
日本について勉強しています。
I'm studying about Japan.
その問題について話しましょう。
Let's talk about that problem.
More formal than について. Used in writing or formal speech.
この件に関してご連絡ください。
Please contact us about this matter.
Used as '〜に関する + noun' to mean 'about/concerning'. Formal.
Describing movement without a specific destination.
Used with verbs of movement to mean 'about/around'. あちこち means 'here and there'.
街をあちこち歩いた。
I walked about the town.
Attach to a place noun to mean 'all over' or 'about'. Emphasizes covering the area.
公園中を走り回った。
I ran about the park.
Onomatopoeic adverb for wandering about aimlessly.
Expressing that something is roughly in a certain state or degree.
Used after a phrase to mean 'about like that' or 'roughly'. Often follows a number or description.
完成まであと1週間といったところです。
It's about another week until completion.
Interjection meaning 'well, about that' when giving a rough estimate or hesitant answer.
まあ、そんなところです。
Well, it's about that.
Expressing that an action is imminent.
Attach to dictionary form of verb. Means 'about to do' or 'on the verge of'.
出かけるところです。
I'm about to go out.
電車が出るところだった。
The train was about to leave.
Used with verb stem + そう to mean 'almost did' or 'was about to'. Often for unintended actions.
転びそうになった。
I was about to fall.
Both mean 'about', but くらい is more casual and follows the number, while 約 is more formal and precedes the number. くらい can also be used for non-numerical approximations like 'それくらい' (about that much).
について is only for topics. Saying '10分について' to mean 'about 10 minutes' is incorrect. Use 約 or くらい for numbers.
環境に関する本を読んだ。
I read a book about the environment.
I strolled about the town.