大约
approximately; about
HSK level
- Pinyin
- dàyuē
- Part of speech
- adverb
- Level
- HSK 4
- Strokes
- 9
- Register
- neutral
- In episodes
- 1
Stroke order for 大约
大约 is written with 9 strokes (大: 3, 约: 6). The animation replays automatically.
What does 大约 mean?
大约 (dàyuē) is an adverb meaning 'approximately,' 'about,' or 'roughly.'
It comes before a number or quantity to signal an estimate: 大约二十个人 ('about twenty people'), 大约需要三天 ('takes about three days'). It can also mean 'probably' before a whole clause, though this use is a bit less common than with 大概. English speakers should note that 大约 tends to attach to measurable quantities — time, amount, distance, number — where English says 'about' or 'around.'
It is neutral in register and slightly more formal or written than the very colloquial 大概 (dàgài), so you'll see 大约 in news and reports as well as speech. Unlike English 'about,' 大约 is an adverb only and cannot itself be a noun or adjective. Pair it naturally with 左右 (zuǒyòu, 'or so') for a doubly hedged estimate: 大约五点左右 ('around five o'clock or so').
Character by character
Memory hook: 约 already carries 'approximately'; 大约 broadens it to 'roughly, about.'
Hear 大约 in real episodes
大约 appears in 1 Fluentide podcast episode at natural native speed. Each sentence plays at the easiest difficulty it exists in — switch it to hear the same moment at your level, with full pinyin and English throughout.
在英国，大约有三十万家小公司在抖音上卖东西。
In Britain, about three hundred thousand small businesses sell on TikTok.
Opened at 11, Half a Million Fans: How TikTok Shop Turned a Small-Town British Fidget-Toy Shop Into a Hit
Example sentences
从这儿走过去大约十分钟。
Cóng zhèr zǒu guòqù dàyuē shí fēnzhōng.
It's about a ten-minute walk from here.
spoken
会议大约在下午三点开始。
Huìyì dàyuē zài xiàwǔ sān diǎn kāishǐ.
The meeting starts at about three in the afternoon.
neutral
这座城市大约有五百万人口。
Zhè zuò chéngshì dàyuē yǒu wǔbǎi wàn rénkǒu.
This city has a population of about five million.
written
我大约五点左右到。
Wǒ dàyuē wǔ diǎn zuǒyòu dào.
I'll arrive at around five o'clock.
spoken
Common phrases with 大约
Synonyms
Don't confuse 大约 with
FAQ
Related words from the same episodes
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