Translation guide
This guide covers how to ask about quantity, price, degree, and frequency in Japanese. The most common word is いくら for price, and どのくらい or どれくらい for amount or degree. The choice depends on what you are asking about.
これはいくらですか。
How much is this?
The speaker wants to know the cost of something.
The standard word for asking 'how much' in terms of price. Can be used with or without ですか.
これはいくらですか。
How much is this?
全部でいくら？
How much is it altogether? (casual)
Polite version of いくら, often used in customer service or formal situations.
おいくらですか。
How much is it? (polite)
The speaker wants to know the amount of something (uncountable or countable).
General way to ask 'how much' or 'how many'. Works for both countable and uncountable things.
砂糖はどのくらい必要ですか。
How much sugar do you need?
どのくらいの時間がかかりますか。
How much time does it take?
Similar to どのくらい, slightly more casual. Interchangeable in most contexts.
Emphasizes the extent or amount, often used in emotional or rhetorical questions.
どれだけ待てばいいの？
How much longer do I have to wait?
The speaker wants to know the intensity or level of something (e.g., pain, love, difficulty).
Used to ask about the degree of an adjective or verb. Often paired with ～か.
痛みはどのくらいですか。
How much does it hurt?
日本語がどのくらい話せますか。
How much Japanese can you speak?
Formal or literary way to ask about degree. Often used in writing.
The speaker wants to know how often something happens.
Literally 'at what frequency', a clear way to ask 'how often'.
どのくらいの頻度で運動していますか。
How often do you exercise?
Casual way to ask 'how often', literally 'how much well'. Used with verbs.
どれくらいよく映画を見る？
How often do you watch movies?
Use いくら only for price. Use どのくらい for quantity, degree, or time. Using いくら for non-price things sounds unnatural.
✕ 水はいくらですか。(when meaning 'how much water')
Incorrect for amount of water. Use どのくらい instead.
いくら means 'how much money'. For 'how much' in other contexts, use どのくらい or どれくらい.
いくらですか。
How much does it cost?
どのくらい時間がありますか。
How much time do we have?
How much do you eat? (casual)
No matter how much effort you put in, sometimes it doesn't pay off.