Describing the duration of experiences

1. Vocabulary List

2. Grammar & Sentences

どのくらい / どのぐらい — How Long / How Much / How Difficult

Both forms are interchangeable. Use at the start of a question to ask about duration, amount, or degree.

Duration:

• どのくらい日本語を勉強していますか。(Dono kurai nihongo wo benkyou shite imasu ka.) — How long have you been learning Japanese?
• どのくらいすもうのけいけんがありますか。(Dono kurai sumou no keiken ga arimasu ka.) — How long have you had sumo experience?

Amount / Degree:

• どのぐらい食べますか。(Dono gurai tabemasu ka.) — How much do you eat?
• どのくらいむずかしいですか。(Dono kurai muzukashii desu ka.) — How difficult is it?
• どのくらいさむいですか。(Dono kurai samui desu ka.) — How cold is it?
• よこづなになるのは、どのくらいむずかしいですか。(Yokozuna ni naru no wa, dono kurai muzukashii desu ka.) — How difficult is it to become a yokozuna?

やく / 約 — Approximately

Place やく before a number + time unit. It signals the figure is not exact.

• 私はやく四か月間日本語を勉強しています。(Watashi wa yaku yonkagetsu-kan nihongo wo benkyou shite imasu.) — I've been studying Japanese for approximately 4 months.
• やく三週間日本に行きます。(Yaku san-shuukan nihon ni ikimasu.) — I will go to Japan for approximately 3 weeks.
• やく五年間アメリカに住んでいました。(Yaku go-nenkan Amerika ni sunde imashita.) — I was living in the US for approximately 5 years.
• やく十日後に東京に行きます。(Yaku tooka-go ni Tokyo ni ikimasu.) — In approximately 10 days, I will go to Tokyo.

Note: 後（ご）= "after" when counting forward from now. 後（あと）= "later", 後（うしろ）= "behind".

けいけん + ある — Expressing Experience

ある does not only mean "there is" — it is also used to express possession, including experience.

Pattern: [activity description] + けいけんはありますか

• 書道のけいけんはありますか。(Shodou no keiken wa arimasu ka.) — Do you have any calligraphy experience?
• りゅう学のけいけんはありますか。(Ryuugaku no keiken wa arimasu ka.) — Do you have any experience studying abroad?
• 日本で仕事をしたけいけんはありますか。(Nihon de shigoto wo shita keiken wa arimasu ka.) — Do you have any experience working in Japan?
• おすもうさんに会ったけいけんがあります。(Osumou-san ni atta keiken ga arimasu.) — I have experienced meeting a sumo wrestler.

Key pattern: To modify けいけん, place the description (verb in plain past form) before the noun: 日本で仕事をした + けいけん = "experience of working in Japan"

3. Learning Context

• どのくらい vs どのぐらい: Fully interchangeable — choose either freely.
• やく precision: やく signals approximation; the sentence is False if it claims the figure is exact.
• Noun modification order: Japanese modifiers precede nouns — おすもうさんに会った + けいけん follows the same rule as adjectives before nouns.
• Sumo dialogue: Interview with a yokozuna who has ~16 years of experience since age 5, eats a lot, is never cold (always moving), and says reaching yokozuna rank is extremely difficult.

4. Progress Tracker