KiVAKO: Chinese 3 and Chinese Characters 3, 5op

大概 and 大约 are adverbs of scope (范围副词). Both words are used to make estimations or draw inferences, but they differ in some aspects:

1. 大概 can be used to make a judgment, an estimation or an inference, especially when the speaker is sure about the estimation.


• 经理 大概 明天 就要 去 北京 开会 了。
  Jīnglǐ dàgài míngtiān jiùyào qù Běijīng kāihuì le.
  Our manager probably is going to Beijing to have a meeting tomorrow.


• 这 几 瓶 水 大概 不够 喝。
  Zhè jī píng shuǐ dàgài bùgòu hē.
  A few bottles of water are not enough to drink.


2. 大约 is usually used in the structure “大约…左右, 大约…上下, 大约…前后” to make an estimation on a quantity.


• 他的 身高 大约 一米 八 上下。
  Tā de shēngāo dàyuē yī mǐ bā shàngxià.
  His height is around 1.8 meters.


• 这 本 书 大约 30 元 左右。
  Zhè běn shū dàyuē 30 yuán zuǒyòu.
  This book is about 30 yuan.

Watch the following video to learn more about the differences: