いくら

い

く

ら

Common wordJLPTN5Freq.FrequencyTop 2,000

Meanings

usually written using kana alone

Interrogative noun or adverb asking about price, cost, quantity, or amount. Very common in questions such as いくらですか and いくらかかる.

この時計とけい、いくらでしたか。
How much was this watch?
修しゅう理りにいくらかかりますか。
How much will the repair cost?

noun, used as a suffix

something over; and change; -odd

usually written using kana alone

Suffix-like use after a rounded number, especially a money amount, meaning that the real amount is a little more but the exact remainder is not being stated.

修しゅう理り代だいは五ご千せん円えんいくらだった。
The repair cost five thousand yen and change.

adverb

however much; no matter how

usually written using kana alone

Used in concessive patterns such as いくら〜ても and いくら〜でも, meaning that the result holds regardless of the degree or amount.

いくら説せつ明めいしても、彼かれは分わかってくれなかった。
No matter how much I explained, he would not understand.
いくら忙いそがしくても、食しょく事じは抜ぬかないでください。
No matter how busy you are, please do not skip meals.

See all 384 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈物もの〉はいくらですかhow much is 〈物〉?
このシャツはいくらですか。
How much is this shirt?
いくら〜てもno matter how much one does ~
いくら頑がん張ばっても、うまくいかなかった。
No matter how hard I tried, it didn't work out.
いくらかかりますかhow much does it cost/take?
東とう京きょうまで電でん車しゃでいくらかかりますか。
How much does it cost by train to Tokyo?

Expressions

いくらにもならないvery little; next to nothing; hardly any

Grammar

どんなに～ても・いくら～てもno matter how (much)N3

Kanji

幾how many, how much, how far

Related words

どのくらいN5sense 1
どのくらい asks about degree, amount, or length of time in general, while いくら is the more direct choice for asking price or a specific numerical amount.
どんなにN3sense 3
どんなに emphasizes degree or manner in concessive patterns like どんなに〜ても, while いくら in いくら〜ても focuses on amount or extent regardless of manner.
いかほど sense 1
いかほど is a formal or polite way to ask 'how much,' whereas いくら is the everyday neutral word used in casual and most polite speech alike.
なんぼ
いくら is the standard Japanese word for 'how much', while なんぼ is its Kansai-dialect equivalent used in casual speech.

Don't confuse with

キャビア
キャビア is salted sturgeon roe, a luxury delicacy, while いくら is salmon roe, a more common and affordable Japanese food.
いくらでも
いくら asks 'how much' as a question, while 幾らでも means 'any amount at all' and is not a question word.
いくつN5
幾ら sounds similar to 幾つ but asks about price or amount, not a countable number or age.

Word family

いくらでも
as much as one likes; any amount; plenty · almost none; hardly any · no matter how much; regardless of amount
いくらかN2
some; a little; a certain amount · somewhat; to some extent; in part
いくらも
a lot; many · (not) much; (not) many; hardly any

Written forms

いくらUsage91%
It is usually written in kana; this is the normal spelling in everyday Japanese.
幾いくらUsage9%
Kanji spelling, but less usual than kana in modern everyday writing.

Etymology

The kanji spelling 幾ら uses 幾, associated with indefinite or interrogative quantity such as 'how many/how much.' The word is normally written in kana; the exact historical derivation is not specified.