約
Meanings
Used before numbers, quantities, times, distances, and similar expressions to show an approximate amount.
About three hundred people gathered at the venue.
It is about a ten-minute walk to the station.
promise; appointment; engagement
A short Sino-Japanese noun for a promise or engagement; uncommon as a free-standing modern word, where 約束 or 予約 is usually more natural. It appears more readily in set or formal-looking expressions.
約を違える is a somewhat stiff expression meaning 'to break a promise.'
shortening; reduction; simplification
Used mainly as a Sino-Japanese bound element or technical-looking noun for making something shorter, smaller, or simpler, as in compounds related to summarizing or reducing.
The 約 in 要約 carries the sense of shortening and summarizing a text.
In mathematical 約分, a fraction is reduced to a simpler form.
phonetic contraction
Specialized linguistic use referring to contraction of sounds; closely related to the term 約音.
See also: 約音
In linguistic explanations, the term 約音 may be used to refer to contraction of sounds.
Usage patterns
- 約〈数〉approximately (a given number/amount)
This town has a population of about 50,000.
- 約〈数〉時間for approximately (a given number of) hours
It takes about three hours from Tokyo to Osaka by bullet train.