いかほど
いかほど
adverb
how much; to what extent; how great
1.
how much; to what extent; how great
A formal or literary way of asking about the degree, amount, or extent of something. More polite and elevated in register than いくら or どのくらい.
いかほどでしょうか。
How much would it be?
彼がいかほど努力したか、想像もつかない。
I cannot even imagine how much effort he put in.
この経験がいかほど貴重なものであったか、後になって初めて気づいた。
I only realized later how precious this experience was.
Composed of いか (how, what) and ほど (degree, extent). A formal interrogative adverb used to ask about quantity, degree, or extent. Can appear in both direct questions and rhetorical expressions. Common in business correspondence, formal speech, and literary writing.
COMMON PATTERNS:
- いかほどでしょうか: How much would it be? (polite inquiry about price)
- いかほど〜か: how much / to what extent (rhetorical)
- いかほどのものか: how great is it, really?
SIMILAR WORDS:
- いくら: how much — the standard, everyday equivalent
- どのくらい: how much, to what extent — conversational equivalent
- どれほど: how much, to what extent — moderately formal, between どのくらい and いかほど in register
- いかに: how, in what way — another formal interrogative, focuses on manner rather than degree
REGISTER:
いかほど is notably more formal than いくら or どのくらい. It is appropriate in business letters, formal inquiries, and literary prose, but would sound stiff in casual conversation.