何の言葉23 大体 (daitai)

Hi!

Have you ever listened to Japanese people speaking day-to-day? Even though I technically passed the JLPT N2 (because JLPT N3 means that you should be able to understand basic daily conversations), I still find it challenging to fully grasp what native speakers are saying.

It’s always a struggle for me — for a few reasons:

• Japanese people talk quickly

• they also structure sentences differently from English (eg. using nouns > verbs)

• they use common daily words that I don’t learn in a textbook or formal class.

When I find myself in these situations, I try to catch at least 70% of the conversation and do my best to respond.

Sometimes I might look confused so they would ask me 「分かる?」

That's when I would say 「うん、大体分かる」(un, daitai wakaru) which means “Yeah, I roughly understand”.

Maybe I'm just a little embarrassed to ask them what are they talking about.. 🤔

Well, if you're embarrassed like me, you don't need to ask about なんの言葉 so here's today's word!

What does 大体 mean?

大体 means ‘mostly’, ‘generally’ or ‘approximately’.

It is used to express a general idea, rather than an exact figure. It has 2 nuances:

1. for the most part; mostly; generally

The main meaning of 大体 is “mostly”. For example,

• N5の日本語は、大体覚えた。
  ^{(Enu go no nihongo wa daitai oboeta.)}
  I have memorized the most part of N5 Japanese.

• この町では、大体の人がフランス語を話せる。
  ^{(Kono machi dewa, daitai no hito ga huransu go wo hanaseru)}
  In this town, most of the people can speak French.

• 「～ってこと？」「うん、大体あってる。」
  ^{(～tte koto?」「Un, daitai atteru.)}
  ”You mean, ~?” “Yeah, it’s mostly right.”

大体 can also be used as “generally” or “almost always”. For example:

• マレーシアの料理は、大体辛い。
  ^{(Mareeshia no ryouri wa, daitai karai.)}
  Malaysian cuisine is generally spicy.

• うちの犬は、いつ見ても大体寝てるよ。
  ^{(Uchi no inu wa, itsu mitemo daitai neteru yo.)}
  My dog is usually sleeping whenever I see him.

2. approximately; about; roughly

大体 can be used this way when we want to show an estimated amount. For example,

• 東京から大阪まで、大体500キロあります。
  ^{（Toukyou kara oosaka made, daitai gohyaku kiro arimasu.)}
  From Tokyo to Osaka, it’s approximately 500km.

• この本は、大体3日で読みきれる。
  ^{（Kono hon wa, daitai mikka de yomikireru.）}
  You can finish this book in about 3 days.

How to write 大体?

You can write it as だいたい or 大体.

Similar English phrases:

“for the most part”
“mostly”
“roughly speaking”
“generally speaking”

 💡 Another word for 大体

Another casual and often used word that has the same meaning as 大体 is ほとんど (hotondo).

ほとんど means “almost all” or “mostly”.

In these sentences below, you can use either of them (ほとんど ↔ 大体) :

１．ドンドンドンキに行けば、大体のものは買える。
^{（Don don donki ni ikeba, daitai no mono wa kaeru.）}
　We can buy almost any items when we go to Don don donki.

２．大体スプーン2杯分くらいの砂糖を入れてください。
 ^{（Daitai supuun ni hai bun kurai no satou wo irete kudasai.）}
　Please add approximately 2 spoons of sugar.

３．あいつの言うことは大体ウソだから、信じないで。
 ^{（Aitsu no iu koto wa daitai uso dakara, shinjinaide.）}
　What he says is almost always a lie, so don’t believe him.

４．東京のことなら大体わかるよ。何でも聞いてね。
 ^{（Toukyou no koto nara daitai wakaru yo. Nan demo kiite ne.）}
　I know well about most of Tokyo. Ask me anything.

５：駅までは、ここから大体30分かかります。
 ^{（Eki made wa, koko kara daitai san juppun kakarimasu.）}
　It takes around 30 minutes from here to the station.

Similar Japanese phrases:

ほとんど (hotondo)
ほぼ (hobo)
約 (yaku/oyoso)