Structure
Verb + ころ
［い］Adjective + ころ
［な］Adjective + な + ころ
Noun + ごろ
Noun + の + ころ
Details
Standard
About ごろ
ころ, or ごろ (the colloquial pronunciation) is a word which carries the meaning of 'around', or 'about'. It is utilized in a similar way to くらい, but has a few differences. When ごろ is used, it will need to be attached to the end of a noun, or a noun followed by の.
The main difference between ころ and くらい is that ころ can be (and often is) used to express a broad point in time, while くらい is limited to expressing timeframes that are more specific.
Conversely, ころ will not be used when expressing approximate distances/lengths.
The primary reason for this is that ころ expresses a span of something, while くらい expresses an extent. In this way, ころ could also be translated as 'within the span of (A)', while くらい is closer to 'at the point of (A)'. As an easier way to think about it, if we have a one meter ruler, ころ could express anywhere between 1 to 100 centimeters (the span), but くらい can only express somewhere between 90 and 100 centimeters (the extent).
Just like with English, if the 'time' expressed is very specific, then either くらい or ころ could be used naturally. This is due to the 'span', and the 'extent' already being something that is a 'precise point' in these cases.
Caution
The kanji form of 頃 is also very common, so it is worth learning as soon as possible, to save any confusion while reading.
Synonyms
Related
Vocab Coverage
All Bunpro Vocab that appears on this item.
Examples
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８時頃に帰りました。
I went home around eight o'clock.
東京に行った友達は今頃着いているでしょう。
My friend who went to Tokyo is probably arriving around now...
月曜日の夜頃に、雨が降ります。
It will rain around Monday night.
何時頃帰って来る？
Around what time will you come home?
１１時頃に帰って来るから、ご飯はいらないです。
I will get home about 11, so I don't need dinner.
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Self-Study Sentences
ごろ – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (14 in total)
BreadmanNin
I also came here to see if there is an answer to this question. My answer just got marked wrong for including に while I can’t figure out the difference between this sentence and the several example sentences that do include it.
Ashitaka1
Have you found your answer? It is a good question because it is just like the example “私は大学生の頃に富士山を登りました。”
This section should be reviewed. No examples with verbs or adjectives. Too many examples with time.
BreadmanNin
I never got an answer from a human, book or other such resource, but I did recently ask an AI, and it returned that omitting に is the standard in normal spoken Japanese, but that using に is also very common and completely gramatically correct, but usually limited to more formal situations or written text.
If that info is correct, it would be nice if Bunpro either marked it correct or added a yellow shake message.