～くらい/ぐらい

Today’s Question

お茶ちゃぐらい自分じぶんでいれます implies
a. I don’t like tea.
b. I like tea.
c. tea making is easy
d. tea making is difficult

Today’s Grammar Point: ～くらい/ぐらい

～くらい/ぐらい has a few meanings. One is for “approximately” and that usage is explained here. Today, I’m going to talk about the ～くらい/ぐらい that is used to describe how trivial a condition is (Meaning 1) as well as to describe an extent of a condition using an example (Meaning 2). See examples below.

Connection

• この/その/あの/どの (prenoun adjectival) + くらい/ぐらい
• [noun] + ぐらい/くらい
• [いadjective] + ぐらい/くらい
• [なadjective] + な + ぐらい/くらい
• [plain form verb] + ぐらい/くらい

When it follows この/その/あの/どの, くらい is a lot more common than ぐらい, but if anything else comes before that ぐらい is more common than くらい although this is not a fixed rule.

Meaning 1 emphasising the trivialness of the condition

Possible Translation

• “at least”
• “all I can …”
• “as little as”

Examples

それくらい自分じぶんでやって。
Do it yourself (at least that much)!

お茶ちゃぐらい自分じぶんでいれます。(Today’s Question Sentence)
I’ll make tea myself. (⇐ I will do such an easy thing of making tea by myself.)

インスタントラーメンぐらいしかできないけど、いい？
About all I can cook is 2-minute noodles. Is that OK?

日曜日にちようびぐらいテレビを見みせてよ。
Please let me watch TV at least on Sunday.

子こどものためにできるのは、話はなしを聞きくことぐらいです。
All I can do for children is to listed to them.

頭あたまが痛いたいぐらいで、医者いしゃには行いきたくない。
I don’t want to go to a doctor just because I have a headache. (I don’t want to go to a doctor for as little as having a headache.)

試験しけんが難むずかしかったぐらいで、泣なかないでよ。
Please don’t cry just because the exam was hard. (Please don’t cry for as little as the exam having been difficult.)

仕事しごとが大変たいへんなぐらいで愚痴ぐちらないでください。
Please don’t complain just because the work is hard. (Please don’t complain for as little as the work being hard.)

Meaning 2 explaining an extent using an example

Possible Translation

• “as … as ～”
• ”～ enough to do ….”
• “rather … than ～”
• “might as well … as ～.”

Examples

このくらいの大おおきさの箱はこを探さがしています。
I’m looking for a box just about this big.

エイミーさんぐらい上手じょうずに日本語にほんごを話はなしたい。
I want to speak Japanese as well as Amy can.

テストは少すこし難むずかしいくらいの方ほうがいい。
Tests should be rather difficult.

子こどもはやんちゃなくらいがいい。
Children should be rather naughty (than placid).

翻訳ほんやくの仕事しごとができるぐらいの読解力どっかいりょくをつけたい。
I want to improve my reading comprehension enough to be able to work as a translator.

一時間いちじかんもバスを待まつくらいなら、歩あるいて行いこう。
If we have to wait for the bus for an hour, I’d rather walk.

試験しけんに落おちて泣なくくらいなら、どうしてもっと勉強べんきょうしなかったんだ。
If you have to cry for failing the exam, why didn’t you study harder? (You might as well have studied harder as you’d have to cry for failing the exam.)

途中とちゅうでやめるぐらいならば始はじめなければよい。
You might as well not start at all as leave it unfinished.

Answer to Today’s Question: c

See above.