どの位
donokurai
In Japanese, "how long" is expressed as どの位 (donokurai). Wiktionary also lists どれくらい (dorekurai) and どれぐらい (doregurai).
Meaning: how long (length of time) (adv)
Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| どの位 | donokurai | |
| どれくらい | dorekurai | [do̞ɾe̞kɯ̟ɾa̠i] (narrow) |
| どれぐらい | doregurai |
These phrases are used to ask about the duration of time, or how long something has been occurring. The form どれくらい can also be used to mean "how much."
Which one should you use?
The forms どれくらい (dorekurai) and どれぐらい (doregurai) are interchangeable, though どれぐらい is a slightly more phonetic variation of the word.
How does it change in a sentence?
どの位 can function as an adverbial phrase to modify a verb or as a noun-like phrase to ask about duration.
How do you pronounce it?
donokurai
Did you know?
- In Japanese, the same words used to ask 'how long' for time are also used to ask 'how far' for physical distance.
- The character 位 used in these phrases originally referred to a rank or a position in a social hierarchy.
- Depending on the context, どれくらい can be used to ask about the intensity of an emotion or the degree of a feeling rather than a measurement of time.
Examples in context
- どれくらい待った？How long have you waited?This sentence is useful for asking how long someone has waited using どれくらい.Tatoeba #10640275 by bunbuku, translation #37610 by CK
- どれくらいなら待てる？How long can you wait?This sentence is useful for asking how long someone can wait using どれくらい.Tatoeba #11915372 by bunbuku, translation #3403363 by CK
- ここに住んでどれぐらい？How long have you lived here?This sentence is useful for asking how long someone has lived in a place using どれぐらい.Tatoeba #11569571 by small_snow, translation #61746 by CK
- 133 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Hiroto and Yui are talking about a recent training program.
- 大翔 Hiroto結衣さんは、どの位勉強しましたか？Yui-san wa, dono kurai benkyou shimashita ka?Yui, how long did you study?
- 結衣 Yui毎日、三時間は勉強しました。Mainichi, san-jikan wa benkyou shimashita.I studied for three hours every day.
- 大翔 Hirotoそれは大変でしたね。Sore wa taihen deshita ne.That must have been hard.
- 結衣 Yuiはい、でも頑張りました。Hai, demo ganbarimashita.Yes, but I did my best.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “how long” translations and entries どれくらい, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
