頃 has two readings and two jobs. As a suffix, ごろ means “around” a point in time: 三時ごろ (around three), 五月ごろ (around May). As a noun, ころ means “the time when” or “days”: 子どもの頃 (when I was a child), 桜が咲く頃 (when the cherry blossoms bloom).
Both come from the same kanji, and both blur a time instead of stating it exactly. The difference is size: ごろ blurs a point on the clock or calendar, ころ names a whole period of life or of the year.
ごろ = around this time. ころ = back in that period.
What does 頃 mean?
ごろ (“around”) follows a specific time and makes it approximate:
- 七時ごろ起きます。 — I get up around seven.
- 来週の金曜日ごろ — around Friday next week
ころ (“the time when”) is a noun you modify with a clause or a noun + の:
- 子どもの頃、よく川で泳ぎました。 — When I was a child, I often swam in the river.
- 日本に来たばかりの頃 — back when I had just come to Japan
The sound change is regular. When 頃 is glued directly to a time word it becomes ごろ (a voiced sound, as in many compounds). When it stands as a noun after の or a verb, it stays ころ. In everyday writing, the suffix is usually written in hiragana (三時ごろ) and the noun is written either way (子どもの頃 or 子どものころ).
Three fixed words are worth learning as vocabulary: このごろ (these days, lately), その頃 (back then), and あの頃 (those days, with a nostalgic feeling).
How to form 頃
| Before 頃 | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Clock time, date, month, year | time + ごろ | 八時ごろ, 十日ごろ, 二〇二〇年ごろ |
| Question word | 何時／いつ + ごろ | 何時ごろ, いつごろ |
| Noun | N + の + 頃 | 学生の頃 (when I was a student) |
| Verb | plain form + 頃 | 桜が咲く頃, 日本に来た頃 |
| い-adjective | い-adj + 頃 | 若い頃, 小さい頃 |
| な-adjective | な-adj + な + 頃 | 元気な頃 |
A few details:
- ごろ and ごろに are both correct. 三時ごろ会いましょう and 三時ごろに会いましょう mean the same thing; に is optional, just as with many other time words.
- With verbs, the past form looks back at a finished period (日本に来た頃 — when I had just arrived), and the dictionary form points to a recurring or upcoming season (桜が咲く頃 — when the cherry trees bloom).
- Past tense for noun periods: 学生の頃 and 学生だった頃 both mean “when I was a student.” The だった version stresses that it is over.
When is 頃 used?
- Arranging times loosely. 三時ごろ行きます (I’ll come around three) tells the listener not to expect you at exactly 3:00. Japanese speakers often add ごろ even to times they are fairly sure of, to avoid sounding like a promise.
- Asking for a rough time. 何時ごろ and いつごろ are softer than plain 何時 and いつ. A shop assistant will ask いつごろお届けしましょうか — roughly when should we deliver?
- Talking about your past. 子どもの頃, 学生の頃, 若い頃 open countless stories and self-introductions. This is the ころ you will use most in conversation.
- Seasons and yearly events. 梅雨の頃, 桜の頃, 紅葉の頃: Japanese marks the year by what happens in nature, and ころ is the word that does it.
Register is neutral in both uses. このごろ is a little more conversational than 最近, which also means “lately.”
頃 example sentences
三時ごろ駅の前で会いましょう。
Let’s meet in front of the station around three.
荷物は何日ごろ届きますか。
Around what date will the package arrive?
子どもの頃、よく川で泳ぎました。
When I was a kid, I often swam in the river.
大学生だった頃、京都に住んでいました。
Back when I was at university, I lived in Kyoto.
桜が咲く頃に、また日本に来たいです。
I’d like to come to Japan again when the cherry blossoms are out.
日本に来たばかりの頃は、日本語が全然わかりませんでした。
When I had only just come to Japan, I couldn’t understand any Japanese at all.
このごろ、よく雨が降りますね。
It’s been raining a lot lately, hasn’t it?
The first two examples use ごろ after a clock time or date. The rest use ころ as a noun for a stretch of time: childhood, university, spring, the first weeks in a new country.
Nuance of 頃
ごろ is about politeness as much as accuracy. Giving an exact time can sound rigid, and ごろ leaves a little room. That is why you hear 十時ごろお伺いします (“I’ll visit around ten”) in business even when the visitor intends to be exactly on time.
ころ in the “period” sense often carries nostalgia. あの頃は楽しかった (“Those were good times”) is something you say looking back at a phase that has ended. Plain とき would be neutral: 子どものとき just states when something happened, while 子どもの頃 feels more like a memory of a whole era.
Point or period? If you can put it on a clock or calendar (3:00, the 10th, May), use ごろ. If it is a phase of life or a season, use の頃.
One more contrast: ごろ never goes with a length of time. 三時ごろ is a moment on the clock; “about three hours” is 三時間ぐらい. Mixing them up is the most common error with this word.
頃 vs ぐらい
ごろ and ぐらい both translate as “about” or “around,” so learners use them interchangeably. They measure different things.
In casual conversation, Japanese speakers do sometimes say 三時ぐらいに行く for a point in time. You will hear it, but on the JLPT and in careful speech, keep ごろ for points and ぐらい for amounts.
Common mistakes with 頃
三時間 is a length of time, not a point on the clock. Lengths and amounts take ぐらい.
As a noun, ころ needs の after another noun. Only time points like 三時 attach directly (as ごろ).
い-adjectives and verbs connect directly to 頃, without の.
Is 頃 on the JLPT?
Yes. ごろ appears from N5 vocabulary onwards, and N4 adds the noun use 〜の頃／〜た頃 in reading passages about people’s pasts.
At N4 you should be able to:
- Choose ごろ for points in time and ぐらい for amounts
- Connect 頃 to nouns with の and to verbs and adjectives directly
- Read このごろ, その頃 and あの頃 correctly
A classic grammar question offers 三時（ ）着きます with ごろ, ぐらい, まで and までに as choices. Check whether the number is a time on the clock (ごろ) or a quantity like 三時間 (ぐらい). In listening, 何時ごろ in the question usually means the answer will be an approximate time, so don’t wait for an exact minute.
Practice questions for 頃
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いつも十一時ごろ寝ます。 — I usually go to bed around eleven.
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駅まで二十分ぐらいかかります。 — It takes about twenty minutes to the station.
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高校生の頃、毎日テニスをしていました。 — When I was in high school, I played tennis every day.
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いつごろ国に帰りますか。 — Roughly when are you going back home?
Learning path for 頃
Related grammar to review next
- ぐらい — “about” for amounts and durations, where ごろ is for points in time.
- とき — the neutral “when,” without the approximation or nostalgia of 頃.
- 間に — places an event inside a period, the way 頃 places it around a point.
- までに — turns a rough time into a deadline: 三時までに.
Browse more lessons here:
Learn 頃 with Hane
Hane quizzes you on ごろ and ぐらい with real times and durations until the choice becomes automatic. Practise 頃 in Hane.
FAQ about 頃
What does 頃 (koro goro) mean in Japanese?
頃 (koro goro) means “around; about”. It is JLPT N4 grammar. ごろ (“around”) follows a specific time and makes it approximate:
How do you form 頃 (koro goro)?
Time point+ごろ Noun+の+頃（ころ） 三時ごろ ・ 子どもの頃 ・ 若い頃 ・ 元気な頃 ・ 学生だった頃 | Before 頃 | Pattern | Example | |---|---|---| | Clock time, date, month, year | time + ごろ | 八時ごろ, 十日ごろ, 二〇二〇年ごろ | | Question word | 何時／いつ + ごろ | 何時ごろ, いつごろ | | Noun | N + の + 頃 | 学生の頃 (when I was…
What is the difference between 頃 and ぐらい?
ごろ: approximate point in time. ぐらい: approximate amount or length.
What is an example sentence with 頃 (koro goro)?
三時ごろ駅の前で会いましょう。 — Let’s meet in front of the station around three.