目錄
The place where you are most likely to see the Japanese word 「いくら」 is probably in a store. 「これ、いくらですか」 asks how much something costs, but in other sentences, 「いくら」 can also relate to quantity, amount, or degree, so its meaning is not limited to price.
The issue is that the Chinese word 「多少」 covers a very broad range, while Japanese makes finer distinctions. When asking how many apples there are or how many boxes are needed, you would not normally use 「いくら」 directly. Weight, time, and distance also have other more common ways of being asked. When you encounter 「いくらでも」 or 「いくら〜ても」, the meaning shifts in yet another direction.
So when you see 「いくら」, rather than immediately translating it as “how much does it cost?”, it is better to first look at what kind of “how much” the sentence is asking about. Once price, count, and degree are separated, it becomes much easier to distinguish 「いくら」「いくつ」「どのくらい／どれくらい」.
Japanese 「いくら」 Attachment Rules: How Do You Use It for Prices, 「いくらでも」, and 「いくら〜ても」?
「いくら」 itself does not conjugate like a verb. What actually changes is what comes after it. The three most common patterns are 「いくらですか」「いくらでも」 and 「いくら〜ても／〜でも」. 「いくらですか」 is used to ask about a price, monetary amount, or another unspecified quantity. 「いくらでも」 indicates that no upper limit has been set for quantity or degree. 「いくら〜ても／〜でも」 means “no matter how…” or “however much…,” and the verb, adjective, or noun that follows must change according to the rules for 「〜ても／〜でも」.
In questions about money, you will also often see 「いくらぐらい」, which means “about how much.” For example, 「予算はいくらぐらいですか」 does not ask for a perfectly exact amount. It asks roughly what range the budget falls into. 「いくら」 itself has not changed; 「ぐらい」 has simply been added to indicate an approximate range.
| Usage | Attachment Pattern | Example | Meaning |
| Asking a price／amount | Noun＋は＋いくらですか | このバッグはいくらですか | How much is this bag? |
| Asking the total | 全部で＋いくらですか／いくらになりますか | 全部でいくらになりますか | How much is it altogether? |
| Asking an approximate amount | いくら＋ぐらい | 予算はいくらぐらいですか | About how much is the budget? |
| Unlimited quantity／degree | いくら＋でも | いくらでも持ってきてください | Bring as much as you like |
| Concessive verb pattern | いくら＋Vて-form＋も | いくら待っても | No matter how long you wait |
| Concessive い-adjective pattern | いくら＋い-adjective 「〜くて」＋も | いくら高くても | No matter how expensive it is |
| Concessive な-adjective pattern | いくら＋な-adjective stem＋でも | いくら便利でも | No matter how convenient it is |
| Concessive noun pattern | いくら＋noun＋でも | いくら子どもでも | Even if they are a child／no matter that they are a child |
「いくら」 Pattern ①｜Use 「Noun＋は＋いくらですか」 When Asking the Price
When asking a price, the most basic pattern with 「いくら」 is 「noun＋は＋いくらですか」. If it is already obvious which item you are talking about, 「は」 is often omitted in everyday conversation, so you may hear both 「これはいくらですか」 and 「これ、いくらですか」. If you want to include the product name, simply put it before 「いくらですか」, as in 「このバッグはいくらですか」.
If you are asking not about one item but the combined total of several items, you can add 「全部で」 at the beginning and say 「全部でいくらですか」 or 「全部でいくらになりますか」. 「いくらぐらい」 adds the nuance of “approximately” and is suitable for asking about a budget or a price range where an exact figure down to the final yen is unnecessary.
- Example: これはいくらですか。
Kana: これはいくらですか。
Translation: How much is this?
「これ」 refers to the item in front of you, and 「いくらですか」 directly asks its selling price. In spoken Japanese, 「これ、いくらですか」 is also very common. - Example: 全部でいくらになりますか。
Kana: ぜんぶでいくらになりますか。
Translation: How much is it altogether?
「全部で」 first limits the scope to the combined total of all the items, and 「いくらになりますか」 asks for the final total amount. - Example: 予算はいくらぐらいですか。
Kana: よさんはいくらぐらいですか。
Translation: About how much is the budget?
Placing 「ぐらい」 after 「いくら」 indicates that only an approximate amount is needed rather than a completely exact figure.
「いくら」 Pattern ②｜「いくらでも」 Means “As Much as You Like,” With No Preset Upper Limit
「いくらでも」 is not a question. It indicates that no limit has been set in advance for quantity or degree. 「でも」 attaches directly to 「いくら」, and the whole expression can be understood as “as much as…” or “however much…”. It is usually followed by an actual action, as in 「いくらでも食べられる」 or 「いくらでも質問してください」.
This usage is very different from the simple 「いくらですか」. 「いくらですか」 expects an answer in the form of an amount or number, while 「いくらでも」 does not specify an upper limit. For example, 「お金ならいくらでも払います」 is not asking how much needs to be paid. It means that if money is the issue, the speaker is willing to pay any amount.
- Example: いくらでも持ってきてください。
Kana: いくらでももってきてください。
Translation: Bring as much as you like.
「いくらでも」 indicates that there is no preset upper limit on quantity, while 「持ってきてください」 states the actual action to be performed. - Example: 質問ならいくらでもしてください。
Kana: しつもんならいくらでもしてください。
Translation: If you have questions, ask as many as you like.
This is not counting how many questions there are. It indicates that there is no limit on the number of questions. - Example: お金ならいくらでも払います。
Kana: おかねならいくらでもはらいます。
Translation: If it is a matter of money, I will pay any amount.
「いくらでも」 modifies 「払います」 and shows that no specific upper limit has been set on the amount the speaker is willing to pay.
「いくら」 Pattern ③｜How Does 「いくら〜ても／〜でも」 Change?
「いくら〜ても／〜でも」 means “no matter how…” or “however much…,” and the main point to watch is how the word after 「いくら」 changes. Verbs use the て-form followed by 「も」, as in 「待つ→待っても」 and 「食べる→食べても」. With い-adjectives, replace the final 「い」 with 「くて」 and then add 「も」, as in 「高い→高くても」. な-adjectives and nouns take 「でも」, as in 「便利でも」 and 「子どもでも」.
Here, 「いくら」 is no longer asking “how much?”. 「いくら待っても」 does not mean “how long do you wait?” but rather “no matter how long you wait.” Likewise, 「いくら高くても」 is not asking about a price. It pushes the degree of expensiveness to an extreme and then indicates that the result that follows still does not change.
- Example: いくら待っても彼女は来ませんでした。
Kana: いくらまってもかのじょはきませんでした。
Translation: No matter how long I waited, she did not come.
「待つ」 changes to the て-form 「待って」 and then takes 「も」, producing 「いくら待っても」. The point is that even if the waiting time becomes longer and longer, the outcome remains the same. - Example: これは必要なので、いくら高くても買います。
Kana: これはひつようなので、いくらたかくてもかいます。
Translation: I need this, so I will buy it no matter how expensive it is.
「高い」 is an い-adjective. Remove the final 「い」 and add 「くても」 to form 「高くても」. - Example: いくら便利でも、毎月の料金が高すぎるなら使いません。
Kana: いくらべんりでも、まいつきのりょうきんがたかすぎるならつかいません。
Translation: No matter how convenient it is, I will not use it if the monthly fee is too high.
「便利」 is a な-adjective, so the concessive form is 「便利でも」. The preceding 「いくら」 raises the degree of convenience being imagined, but the judgment in the second half still does not change.
How Is Japanese 「いくら」 Used? Prices, Quantities, and Extended Uses
「いくら」 Usage ①｜Asking the Price of an Item or the Total Amount
The most common function of 「いくら」 is to ask a price. If it is already clear which item you mean, you can directly use 「これ／それ／あれ＋いくらですか」. If you want to include the product name, use 「この／その／あの＋noun＋いくらですか」. At checkout, if you want to confirm the total amount, you can also say 「全部でいくらになりますか」.
- Example: これ、いくらですか。
Kana: これ、いくらですか。
Translation: How much is this?
This is the most basic and common 「いくら」 pattern for pointing at an item in a store and asking its price. - Example: そのカレンダー、いくらですか。
Kana: そのかれんだー、いくらですか。
Translation: How much is that calendar?
When a product name follows, you need 「その＋noun」. You cannot say 「それカレンダー」. - Example: 全部でいくらになりますか。
Kana: ぜんぶでいくらになりますか。
Translation: How much is it altogether?
This does not ask the price of a single item. It confirms the total amount of an entire purchase or bill.
「いくら」 Usage ②｜Asking About an Amount or Value Without a Predetermined Unit
「いくら」 can also appear with quantities, but here “quantity” is closer to amount than simply how many. Dictionary examples include unspecified amounts such as water volume, weight, and expenses, so when reading written or somewhat formal language, 「いくら」 should not be restricted to prices alone. However, in everyday conversation, if you simply want to ask how heavy something is, how much water is needed, or how far away something is, 「どのくらい／どれくらい」 is often more direct. This section is meant to broaden the semantic range of 「いくら」; it does not mean that 「いくら」 should be the preferred choice for every quantity question.
- Example: この水槽には水がいくら入りますか。
Kana: このすいそうにはみずがいくらはいりますか。
Translation: How much water can this tank hold?
The question is about the amount of water, not about counting individual objects, so 「いくら」 can be used. - Example: この旅行かばんの重さはいくらありますか。
Kana: このりょこうかばんのおもさはいくらありますか。
Translation: How heavy is this suitcase?
「いくら」 asks about the numerical value of the weight, and the answer would then give a unit such as kilograms. - Example: いくら経費がかかるかわかりません。
Kana: いくらけいひがかかるかわかりません。
Translation: I do not know how much the expenses will be.
Here, 「いくら」 refers to an as-yet-unknown monetary amount and does not need to appear directly in an 「ですか」 question.
「いくら」 Usage ③｜「いくらでも」 and 「いくら〜ても」 for Unlimited Quantity or “No Matter How…”
Outside direct questions, 「いくら」 has two other very common extended uses. 「いくらでも」 can mean “as much as you like” or “as much as needed,” while 「いくら＋verb て-form＋も」 often means “no matter how much you do something.” At this point, it is no longer asking about a price; instead, it adds the idea that there is no clearly defined upper limit to the degree involved.
- Example: いくらでも持ってきてください。
Kana: いくらでももってきてください。
Translation: Bring as much as you like.
「いくらでも」 indicates that no upper limit has been set on quantity. - Example: いくら待っても彼女は来なかった。
Kana: いくらまってもかのじょはこなかった。
Translation: No matter how long I waited, she did not come.
「いくら〜ても」 raises the extent of the waiting, while the result that follows remains unchanged. - Example: いくら食べても太らない体質なんです。
Kana: いくらたべてもふとらないたいしつなんです。
Translation: I have a constitution where I do not gain weight no matter how much I eat.
Here, 「いくら」 combines with 「食べても」 to mean something close to “no matter how much you eat.”
What Is the Difference Between 「いくら」「いくつ」 and 「どのくらい／どれくらい」?
「いくら」「いくつ」 and 「どのくらい／どれくらい」 can all correspond to the Chinese word 「多少」, but what they actually ask about in Japanese is different. 「いくら」 is most commonly used for prices, fees, and monetary amounts, but it can also refer to an unknown quantity or numerical value. 「いくつ」 asks about the number of countable objects and can also be used to ask someone’s age. 「どのくらい／どれくらい」 asks to what degree something reaches, so it may be used for time, distance, weight, quantity, or a range of spending.
One point that can be confusing is that 「いくら」 is not completely incapable of referring to quantity. Rather, in everyday speech, you do not automatically replace every Chinese 「多少」 with 「いくら」. If you want to know how many apples are on the table, you use 「いくつ」. If you want to know roughly how heavy your luggage is, you normally use 「どのくらい」. If you walk into a store and want to know how much a bag costs, that is when you directly ask with 「いくら」.
| Comparison | 「いくら」 | 「いくつ」 | 「どのくらい／どれくらい」 |
| Basic meaning | How much, how much money | How many; how old | How much, how long, how far, to what degree |
| Main focus | Price, fees, monetary amount, quantity/value | Number of countable objects, age | Degree, range, time, distance, weight, approximate quantity |
| Asking an item’s price | Very common | Not used | Can be used with words such as 「お金」 to ask about a range of spending, but it is not the most direct way to ask a listed price |
| Asking how many countable items there are | Usually not used | Most direct | Can ask roughly how many there are, but the focus is not on an exact count |
| Asking time／distance | Usually not used | Not used | Very common |
| Asking weight／capacity | Appears in dictionaries, but everyday conversation often prefers other more natural expressions | Not used | Very common |
| Asking age | Not used | Can be used | Can ask about an approximate age range, but with a different meaning |
| Typical type of answer | A price, amount, or numerical quantity | A number of items or an age | A degree or approximate range |
| Example | これはいくらですか。 | りんごはいくつありますか。 | 駅までどのくらいかかりますか。 |
| Example meaning | How much is this? | How many apples are there? | About how long does it take to get to the station? |
▌「いくら」 vs. 「いくつ」｜Price or Amount vs. Counting How Many
The biggest difference between 「いくら」 and 「いくつ」 is whether the sentence is asking you to count things one by one. 「いくつ」 directly asks for a number, so it works well for apples, boxes, rooms, pieces of luggage, and other things that can be counted as one, two, three, and so on. If you already know the appropriate counter, you can also ask directly with forms such as 「何個」「何本」「何枚」.
「いくら」, on the other hand, is most often used with prices, fees, and monetary amounts. Even when looking at the same apple, 「このりんごはいくらですか」 asks for the selling price. If you want to know how many apples are still in the store, you would instead ask 「りんごはいくつありますか」. Chinese can use 「多少」 in both cases, but Japanese first distinguishes whether you are calculating a price or counting objects.
- Example: このりんごはいくらですか。
Kana: このりんごはいくらですか。
Translation: How much is this apple?
The question is about the item’s selling price, so 「いくら」 is used. The answer may be a monetary amount such as 「150円です」. - Example: りんごはいくつありますか。
Kana: りんごはいくつありますか。
Translation: How many apples are there?
The question is about the number of apples, so the answer would be a quantity such as 「三つあります」 or 「五つあります」. - Example: 箱はあといくつ必要ですか。
Kana: はこはあといくつひつようですか。
Translation: How many more boxes do we need?
Boxes can be counted directly by number, so 「いくつ」 is used. The fact that Chinese can say “how many boxes are needed” using 「多少」 does not mean Japanese would switch to 「いくら」.
▌「いくら」 vs. 「どのくらい／どれくらい」｜Asking a Monetary Value vs. Asking Degree or Range
「いくら」 and 「どのくらい／どれくらい」 can overlap in some areas, such as money, weight, and other numerical values, so they cannot be divided simply into “one asks about money and the other does not.” A better way to distinguish them is to look at whether the sentence wants a specific numerical amount or wants to know approximately to what degree something extends.
If the item is right in front of you and you directly ask 「このバッグはいくらですか」, the focus is the selling price itself. With things such as time, distance, and weight, where there are differences of longer/shorter, farther/closer, or heavier/lighter, 「どのくらい／どれくらい」 is very common. For example, 「どのくらい時間がかかりますか」 and 「どれくらい重いですか」. If 「お金」 is explicitly included in the sentence, 「どれくらいお金を使いましたか」 can also ask how much money was spent, but the question feels more like it is asking about the overall range of spending.
- Example: このバッグはいくらですか。
Kana: このばっぐはいくらですか。
Translation: How much is this bag?
The selling price itself is the point of the question, so using 「いくら」 directly is the most natural choice. - Example: 駅までどのくらい時間がかかりますか。
Kana: えきまでどのくらいじかんがかかりますか。
Translation: About how long does it take to get to the station?
This asks about the length of time required, so 「どのくらい」 is used to ask about degree. - Example: 旅行でどれくらいお金を使いましたか。
Kana: りょこうでどれくらいおかねをつかいましたか。
Translation: About how much money did you spend on the trip?
Combining 「どれくらい」 with 「お金」 also allows you to ask about a monetary amount, but the sentence focuses more on the approximate range of spending over the whole trip.
▌「いくつ」 vs. 「どのくらい／どれくらい」｜Exact Count vs. Approximate Amount
Both 「いくつ」 and 「どのくらい／どれくらい」 can relate to quantity. The difference lies in whether the exact count itself is the question. 「りんごはいくつありますか」 asks how many apples there are and usually expects an answer such as five or ten, which can be counted directly. 「りんごはどれくらい残っていますか」 is more like asking roughly how much is left and does not necessarily require the other person to count every apple on the spot.
So 「どのくらい／どれくらい」 is not simply another way of saying 「いくつ」. If the object is clearly counted in individual units and you want to know the specific number, 「いくつ」 is more direct. If you only want to know whether there is a lot or a little left, roughly how much remains, or what range the amount falls into, 「どのくらい／どれくらい」 is more likely to appear.
- Example: りんごはいくつ残っていますか。
Kana: りんごはいくつのこっていますか。
Translation: How many apples are left?
This asks for the specific remaining count, so the answer can directly be 「六つ残っています」. - Example: りんごはどれくらい残っていますか。
Kana: りんごはどれくらいのこっていますか。
Translation: About how many apples are left?
Rather than requiring an exact count, the sentence is more concerned with the overall remaining quantity. Possible answers include 「まだたくさんあります」 or 「10個くらいです」. - Example: 水はどのくらい残っていますか。
Kana: みずはどのくらいのこっていますか。
Translation: About how much water is left?
Water is not an object counted in “how many,” so 「どのくらい」 is very natural when asking about the amount remaining.
▌The Same “How Much” Can Mean Different Things With 「いくら」「いくつ」 and 「どれくらい」
Suppose all you can see are apples. In Chinese, you could ask “how much do they cost?”, “how many are there?”, or “how many are left?” using forms involving 「多少」 depending on the context. In Japanese, however, the interrogative changes according to the question. 「いくら」 focuses on price, 「いくつ」 directly counts the number, and 「どれくらい」 asks approximately how much remains.
So there is no need to see the Chinese word 「多少」 and immediately look for one fixed Japanese translation. First determine whether the sentence is asking about the selling price, a specific count, or the overall range of a quantity. The choice then becomes much more straightforward.
- Example: このりんごはいくらですか。
Kana: このりんごはいくらですか。
Translation: How much is this apple?
「いくら」 asks about the selling price, so the answer will be an amount in yen or another currency. - Example: りんごはいくつありますか。
Kana: りんごはいくつありますか。
Translation: How many apples are there?
「いくつ」 asks for a directly countable number. - Example: りんごはどれくらい残っていますか。
Kana: りんごはどれくらいのこっていますか。
Translation: About how many apples are left?
「どれくらい」 asks about the degree or amount remaining and does not necessarily require an exact count from the outset.
How Is 「いくら」 Used in Everyday Japanese? Three Common Situations
In everyday conversation, 「いくら」 is most often used to ask about price. When you enter a store and see an item, you can simply say 「これ、いくらですか」. If you mention the product name, use 「この／その／あの＋noun」, as in 「このバッグはいくらですか」. If you are buying more than one item and want to know how much you need to pay in total, you can ask 「全部でいくらですか」 or 「全部でいくらになりますか」. All of these ask about money; what differs is how the item is referred to in the sentence.
▌Situation ①｜Pointing at an Item in a Store and Asking the Price
A：すみません、これ、いくらですか。
すみません、これ、いくらですか。
Excuse me, how much is this?
B：2,800円です。
にせんはっぴゃくえんです。
It is 2,800 yen.
📌 Grammar Point: 「これ、いくらですか」 is used when the item is already visible and both people know which item is being asked about. 「これ」 itself stands for the object in front of the speaker, so no noun needs to follow it. In actual conversation, the particle 「は」 is also often omitted, giving the natural-sounding 「これ、いくらですか」. If the item is near the other person, you can use 「それ」; if it is some distance from both people, you can use 「あれ」.
▌Situation ②｜Naming the Product and Asking the Price of a Specific Item
A：すみません、そのカレンダーはいくらですか。
すみません、そのかれんだーはいくらですか。
Excuse me, how much is that calendar?
B：500円です。
ごひゃくえんです。
It is 500 yen.
📌 Grammar Point: Because the product name 「カレンダー」 appears in the sentence, it is preceded by 「その」. You cannot say 「それカレンダー」. 「これ／それ／あれ」 can function as nouns by themselves, while 「この／その／あの」 must always be followed by a noun. So if you only point at an item, you can say 「それ、いくらですか」, but if you say the product name as well, it becomes 「そのカレンダーはいくらですか」. When shopping, these two sets of demonstratives are commonly switched according to where the product is relative to the speaker and listener.
▌Situation ③｜Buying Several Items and Confirming the Total Before Paying
A：これとこれをお願いします。全部でいくらになりますか。
これとこれをおねがいします。ぜんぶでいくらになりますか。
I’ll take this and this, please. How much is it altogether?
B：全部で3,200円です。
ぜんぶでさんぜんにひゃくえんです。
It is 3,200 yen altogether.
📌 Grammar Point: 「全部で」 means that the previously mentioned items are being added together, while 「全部でいくらになりますか」 asks how much the final amount to be paid will be. 「いくらですか」 can also ask an amount directly, but in checkout and cost-calculation situations, 「いくらになりますか」 is often used for the amount reached after calculation. Here, 「なる」 should not simply be understood as “become”; in the context of money, it means “what does the total come to?”
Usage Notes:
- When 「いくら」 asks about price, the answer will usually contain a specific monetary amount such as 「500円です」 or 「3,000円です」. If the question changes to “how many are there?”, 「いくら」 is no longer used. For example, “How much is this?” is 「これはいくらですか」, while “How many apples are there?” is 「りんごはいくつありますか」. Chinese can use 「多少」 in both cases, but Japanese first looks at whether the question is counting money or counting objects.
- 「これ／それ／あれ」 and 「この／その／あの」 cannot be freely swapped. In 「これ、いくらですか」, 「これ」 already represents an object and can stand alone in the sentence. 「この」, on the other hand, must be followed by a noun, so you say 「このバッグはいくらですか」 or 「このTシャツはいくらですか」. If you cannot remember the product name while shopping, simply saying 「これ、いくらですか」 is often the easiest option.
- 「いくら」 itself does not only mean price. Dictionaries also include meanings involving unspecified number, quantity, and degree. However, in Japanese shopping situations, the most common uses still involve price, fees, and total amounts. In everyday conversation, time, distance, and weight are usually expressed with 「どのくらい／どれくらい」, while the number of countable objects is often asked with 「いくつ」 or 「何＋counter」. So when you encounter the Chinese word 「多少」, you do not need to automatically translate it as 「いくら」. It is more accurate to first look at what kind of value the sentence is actually asking about.
Understanding Japanese 「いくら」 Compared With Korean 「얼마」
Japanese 「いくら」 and Korean 「얼마」 both mean “how much” and can refer to quantities, prices, or other values that have not yet been determined. In shopping situations, the correspondence is especially direct. 「このバッグはいくらですか」 and 「이 가방 얼마예요?」 both ask the price of an item. When asking about fees, deposits, or a total amount, the two languages can also use similar patterns.
However, 「いくら＝얼마」 cannot be applied to every sentence. Japanese 「いくらでも」 is close to Korean 「얼마든지」, with both indicating that no upper limit has been set on quantity or degree. But in patterns such as 「いくら食べても」 and 「いくら待っても」, where Japanese means “no matter how…,” Korean would not normally replace 「いくら」 directly with 「얼마」. Instead, it usually uses 「아무리 먹어도」 or 「아무리 기다려도」. Korean also frequently uses the adverb 「얼마나」 when directly asking about duration, degree, or the extent of a state. So when comparing the two languages, you still need to look at what function 「いくら」 serves in the sentence.
◆ Similar Usage: 「얼마」
The place where Korean 「얼마」 most closely matches Japanese 「いくら」 is when asking about an unknown price, amount of money, or quantity. Japanese 「これはいくらですか」 in a store can be directly compared with Korean 「이거 얼마예요?」. Neither sentence needs to explicitly add the noun “price” in order to mean “How much is this?”
「얼마」 is also not limited to the listed price of an item. It can be used for a deposit amount, a fee, or another quantity that has not yet been determined. In this respect, it is quite close to the original range of Japanese 「いくら」, which can also refer to an unknown or undetermined amount.
- Example: このバッグはいくらですか。
Kana: このばっぐはいくらですか。
Translation: How much is this bag?
In Korean, you can say 「이 가방 얼마예요?」.
Romanization: i ga-bang eol-ma-ye-yo?Both sentences directly ask the selling price of the item, making this the easiest use in which to understand 「いくら」 and 「얼마」 as a one-to-one correspondence. - Example: 全部でいくらになりますか。
Kana: ぜんぶでいくらになりますか。
Translation: How much is it altogether?
In Korean, you can say 「전부 해서 얼마예요?」.
Romanization: jeon-bu hae-seo eol-ma-ye-yo?Japanese uses 「全部で」 to indicate the combined total, while Korean can use 「전부 해서」 to ask the total amount after everything is added together. In both languages, 「いくら／얼마」 asks for the final total. - Example: 契約金はいくらにしますか。
Kana: けいやくきんはいくらにしますか。
Translation: How much should we set the deposit at?
In Korean, you can say 「계약금은 얼마로 할까요?」.
Romanization: gye-yak-geum-eun eol-ma-ro hal-kka-yo?This does not ask about the listed price of a product. It is about deciding an amount that has not yet been determined. Japanese 「いくら」 and Korean 「얼마」 can both handle this type of monetary question.
◆ Similar Usage: 「얼마든지」
Japanese 「いくらでも」 and Korean 「얼마든지」 are also very similar. Both can mean “as much as you like” or “any amount is fine,” with the main idea being that no clear upper limit has been set for quantity or degree. 「いくらでも持ってきてください」, for example, does not ask exactly how much should be brought. It means that bringing any amount is acceptable.
Korean 「얼마든지」 can also extend from literal quantities to meanings such as “freely” or “absolutely possible.” For example, 「얼마든지 할 수 있어요」 literally carries the sense of being able to do something to any extent, but in actual conversation it is close to “You can absolutely do it” or “You can do as much as you like.”
- Example: いくらでも持ってきてください。
Kana: いくらでももってきてください。
Translation: Bring as much as you like.
In Korean, you can say 「얼마든지 가져오세요」.
Romanization: eol-ma-deun-ji ga-jyeo-o-se-yo.Both sentences leave the quantity unlimited and indicate that bringing more is not a problem. - Example: 質問ならいくらでもしてください。
Kana: しつもんならいくらでもしてください。
Translation: If you have questions, ask as many as you like.
In Korean, you can say 「질문은 얼마든지 하세요」.
Romanization: jil-mu-neun eol-ma-deun-ji ha-se-yo.There is no need to literally count the number of questions. The expression indicates that the number or extent of questions is unrestricted. - Example: お金ならいくらでも払います。
Kana: おかねならいくらでもはらいます。
Translation: If it is a matter of money, I will pay any amount.
In Korean, you can say 「돈이라면 얼마든지 낼게요」.
Romanization: do-ni-ra-myeon eol-ma-deun-ji nael-ge-yo.Both sentences remove the monetary limit and indicate that the exact amount is not a problem. In actual use, the tone is very strong and is usually used when emphasizing that there is effectively no monetary limit.
◆ Japanese 「いくら〜ても」 vs. Korean 「아무리〜아/어도」
When Japanese 「いくら」 comes before 「〜ても／〜でも」, its meaning shifts from a simple “how much” to “no matter how…”. In Korean, the closest equivalent is usually not 「얼마」 but 「아무리＋verb／adjective＋-아/어도」. Both languages first raise the action or degree to an extreme and then indicate that the result that follows still does not change.
For example, 「いくら待っても来ない」 is not asking how long someone waited. It means that no matter how long the speaker waits, the person does not come. The natural Korean expression is 「아무리 기다려도 안 와요」. If 「いくら」 were mechanically replaced with 「얼마」, the concessive meaning of “no matter how…” would be lost.
- Example: いくら待っても彼女は来ませんでした。
Kana: いくらまってもかのじょはきませんでした。
Translation: No matter how long I waited, she did not come.
In Korean, you can say 「아무리 기다려도 그 사람은 오지 않았어요」.
Romanization: a-mu-ri gi-da-ryeo-do geu sa-ra-meun o-ji a-na-sseo-yo.Japanese 「いくら待っても」 and Korean 「아무리 기다려도」 both indicate that no matter how much the waiting time is extended, the result remains unchanged. - Example: いくら食べても太らないんです。
Kana: いくらたべてもふとらないんです。
Translation: No matter how much I eat, I do not gain weight.
In Korean, you can say 「아무리 먹어도 살이 안 쪄요」.
Romanization: a-mu-ri meo-geo-do sa-ri an jjyeo-yo.Here, 「いくら」 is not asking about the quantity of food. It increases the degree of the action “eat.” Korean naturally uses 「아무리」 here rather than directly using 「얼마」. - Example: いくら考えてもわかりません。
Kana: いくらかんがえてもわかりません。
Translation: No matter how much I think about it, I cannot figure it out.
In Korean, you can say 「아무리 생각해도 모르겠어요」.
Romanization: a-mu-ri saeng-ga-kae-do mo-reu-ge-sseo-yo.Neither sentence is counting how many times someone has thought. They indicate that even repeated thinking does not change the outcome.
◆ Differences Between Japanese 「いくら」 and Korean 「얼마／얼마나」
Japanese 「いくら」 and Korean 「얼마」 overlap substantially when it comes to price, monetary amount, and unknown numerical quantities, especially in shopping situations where they can almost be memorized side by side. 「これはいくらですか」 corresponds to 「이거 얼마예요?」, and 「いくらでも」 corresponds to 「얼마든지」, making these relationships quite intuitive.
The difference becomes more noticeable with degree. Korean also has 「얼마나」, which is very commonly used to ask “to what extent,” “how long,” or “how…”. For example, 「얼마나 걸려요?」 means “How long does it take?” and 「얼마나 어려워요?」 means “How difficult is it?” In Japanese, questions of this type are usually more likely to use 「どのくらい／どれくらい」 rather than automatically using 「いくら」. So although Japanese 「いくら」 and Korean 「얼마」 have very similar semantic ranges in the dictionary, their actual division of labor in sentences is not completely identical.
Another difference appears in the “no matter how…” pattern. Japanese can directly place 「いくら」 before 「〜ても」 to form expressions such as 「いくら食べても」 and 「いくら考えても」. Korean normally switches to 「아무리〜아/어도」 here rather than using 「얼마」. Conversely, when 「いくらでも」 means “as much as you like,” Korean 「얼마든지」 once again becomes a very close equivalent.
When comparing Japanese and Korean in practice, first check whether 「いくら」 is asking about an amount of money or quantity. If it is simply asking about price, fees, or an undetermined numerical value, 「얼마」 is usually the closest match. If it means “as much as you like,” think of 「얼마든지」. If the sentence has shifted to “no matter how…,” Korean instead uses 「아무리〜아/어도」. For time, distance, and degree, Japanese commonly uses 「どのくらい／どれくらい」, while Korean very often uses 「얼마나」. There is no need to force 「いくら＝얼마」 across every context.
Price is still the most common use of 「いくら」, so when you see an item in a store, 「これ、いくらですか」 is generally straightforward. The more common mistake is to see the Chinese word 「多少」 and automatically replace it with 「いくら」 in every sentence.
When counting apples, boxes, or other things that can be counted one by one, Japanese normally switches to 「いくつ」 or the appropriate counter. When asking about time, distance, weight, or another degree, 「どのくらい／どれくらい」 is also often more natural than 「いくら」. As for 「いくらでも」 and 「いくら〜ても」, these are separate fixed combinations and should no longer be interpreted simply as “how much money.”
When you encounter these forms, first check whether the sentence is calculating a price, counting objects, or asking about degree. This classification is easier than memorizing a fixed Chinese translation and also makes it less likely that you will use 「いくら」 in an unsuitable context.
FAQs
「いくら」 can refer to an unspecified quantity, price, numerical value, or degree. In shopping, it is most commonly used to ask “how much?” For example, 「これはいくらですか」 means “How much is this?”
「いくら」 often asks about a price or unspecified amount, while 「いくつ」 mainly asks for the number of countable objects and can also be used for age. For example, use 「いくら」 for “How much is this?” and 「いくつ」 or the appropriate counter for “How many are there?”
Not in every situation. When directly asking the price of an item in front of you, 「いくら」 is the most natural choice. For degree, such as time, distance, or difficulty, 「どのくらい／どれくらい」 is usually used. When asking about an approximate range of spending, the two may appear in different sentence patterns.
Yes. It is a very basic and natural way to ask a price. If you want to include the product name, use 「この／その／あの＋noun＋いくらですか」, as in 「そのカレンダー、いくらですか」.
「いくらでも」 commonly means “as much as you like” or “any amount,” while 「いくら〜ても」 means “no matter how…”. For example, 「いくら待っても来ない」 means “No matter how long I wait, they do not come.”