[JLPT N5] How long?: どちら・どなた・どのくらい・どう？
こんにちは、ちか先生です。
Konnichiwa, it’s Chika Sensei.
Today, I’m sharing a practice question for JLPT prep.
This one’s for beginners (JLPT N5)!
Can you choose the correct answer?
[Practice Question]
キムさんは（＿＿）日本にいますか。
*キムさんは（＿＿）にほんにいますか。
1 どちら
2 どなた
3 どのくらい
4 どう
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[Answer]
キムさんは（3 どのくらい）日本にいますか。
Kim-san, how long have you been in Japan?/How long has Kim-san been in Japan?
Note: In Japanese, we often use the person’s name instead of “you”.
どのくらい
= “how long” or “how much”
→ It asks about duration (length of time).
In this sentence:
Asking about 日本にいます (being in Japan).
We want to know the length of time Kim-san stays in Japan.
For example, the answer could be:
3しゅうかん (3 weeks)
1ねん (1 year)
So, どのくらい fits perfectly.
✖ Other Choices:
1 どちら
= “where?” (polite)
→ But the place is already there: 日本のどちらにいますか
→ どちら日本にいますか is grammatically wrong.
2 どなた
= “who?” (polite)
→ どなた日本にいますか is grammatically wrong.
4 どう
= “how?” (condition or method)
→ どう日本にいますか is grammatically wrong.
As you can see, only どのくらい fits grammatically.
I hope this explanation helps! 😊