AdverbsHSK 4

Expressing "approximately" with 大约

大约 means "approximately" or "about" and is used to indicate an estimated number, time, amount, or distance.

It can also mean "probably" or "most likely" when used before a verb, similar to 大概.

Structure

Subject + 大约 + Number/Quantity

Used before numbers to show approximation.

Subject + 大约 + Verb

Means "probably" when placed before a verb.

从学校到火车站大约要三十分钟。
Cóng xué xiào dào huǒ chē zhàn dà yuē yào sān shí fēn zhōng.
It takes about thirty minutes to get from school to the train station.
这本书大约有两百页。
Zhè běn shū dà yuē yǒu liǎng bǎi yè.
This book has about two hundred pages.
他大约有四十岁了。
Tā dà yuē yǒu sì shí suì le.
He is approximately forty years old.
会议大约在下午两点开始。
Huì yì dà yuē zài xià wǔ liǎng diǎn kāi shǐ.
The meeting will probably start at around two in the afternoon.
从这里到机场大约五公里。
Cóng zhè lǐ dào jī chǎng dà yuē wǔ gōng lǐ.
It's about five kilometers from here to the airport.