くらいだ/ぐらいだ
くらいだ/ぐらいだ
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Yuzuo Chan
|
11.06.2025
Meaning
To the extent that A; so (much) that A. It gives a vivid, concrete example of how extreme a state, feeling or action is. It can also be rendered 'almost / it's at the point where A'.
Conjugation
(A)Vplain + くらい/ぐらい + だ: (A)Aい + くらい/ぐらい + だ
Examples
Show translation
昨日は疲れて、一歩も歩けないくらいだった。
彼女は歌が上手で、プロになれるぐらいだ。
昨日の映画に感動して、涙が止まらないくらいだった。
彼は日本語がとても上手で、日本人と間違えるくらいだ。
合格の知らせを聞いて、飛び上がりたいくらいだった。
あなたには感謝してもしきれないくらいです。
grammarDetailPage.commonMistakes.title
grammarDetailPage.commonMistakes.wrong: 疲れたくらい、歩けなかった。
grammarDetailPage.commonMistakes.correct: 歩けないくらい疲れた。
grammarDetailPage.commonMistakes.why: The extent (the result or illustration) goes before くらい and the state it describes comes after. Don't put the state before くらい and the extent after it.
grammarDetailPage.commonMistakes.wrong: この部屋は不気味のくらい静かだ。
grammarDetailPage.commonMistakes.correct: この部屋は不気味なくらい静かだ。
grammarDetailPage.commonMistakes.why: な-adjectives connect to くらい with な, not の. Here, 不気味なくらい expresses the degree of quietness: 'so quiet that it is almost eerie'.
grammarDetailPage.commonMistakes.wrong: 駅から10分くらいだ。 (when you mean 'so far that…')
grammarDetailPage.commonMistakes.correct: 駅から歩いて行けないくらい遠い。
grammarDetailPage.commonMistakes.why: Number + くらい means 'about' and is a different usage. For the 'to the extent that' meaning, the extent must be a described state or action, not a plain quantity.
Key points
Use it to stress how strong a feeling or condition is by naming a concrete result, often exaggerated, such as 'so tired I can't walk'. くらい and ぐらい are interchangeable, and ぐらい is slightly more colloquial. It is close to ほどだ, but くらいだ is more conversational, while ほどだ sounds a little more formal. In the middle of a sentence, the extent comes first: 歩けないくらい疲れた (not 疲れたくらい歩けない). This differs from くらい meaning 'about' with quantities (10人くらい) and from くらい meaning 'at least'.
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