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No.6: How to use "Gurai" and "Goro"?

Gurai and Goro both mean "about or around".
Is there any difference between these two?

Hi everyone, in this one point lesson, we are going to talk about the difference between "Goro" and "Gurai". According to the texbook, the both are an adverb which means about or around.

Now let’s translate the following sentences into Japanese using Goro and Gurai. 1. It is around five o'clock right now 2. I had dinner at 8:00PM yesterday. 3. I waited for her in front of the theatre for two hours. 1.  Goro－ "今(いま）5時（じ）ごろです。" 　　 Gurai－"今（いま）5時（じ）ぐらいです。"　 2.  Goro－ "昨日(きのう）8時（じ）ごろ(に）晩（ばん）ご飯（はん）を食（た）べました。" 　　 Gurai－"昨日（きのう）8時（じ）ぐらいに晩（ばん）ご飯（はん）を食（た）べました。" 　　 3.  Goro－ "N/A" 　　 Gurai－"劇場（げきじょう）の前（まえ）で彼女（かのじょ）を2時間（じかん）ぐらい待（ま）ちました。"

In summary, Goro can be used only for a time point whereas Gurai can be used for every case. However, if you want to use Gurai for a time point as an adverb, you need to put particle "に" right after Gurai whereas for Goro, that would be optional.

-- Back Number -- No.1: Difference between 'Kuru & Iku' and English 'Come & Go' No.2: How to use "ga" & "wa" in "there is/are sentence structure". No.3: How to use "ga", "wa" & "wo" for な-Adjective"Like" PartI. No.4: How to use "ga", "wa" & "wo" for な-Adjective"Like" PartII. No.5: How to differentiate "Shiru" from "Wakaru"? No.6: Difference between 'Goro' and 'Gurai'