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So I've been trying to say that a friend has lived in America for about 9 months, and is still currently living in America.

Would it be: アメリカで９月間ぐらいに住んでいます。

I'm not sure if I'm using the correct form of 住む, but I don't think it would be 住んでいました since it is still currently taking place.

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    The question title makes it sound like you're looking for how to say "blank" in Japanese. Why not say How to say "I've been living in America for 9 months? and then adapt the answer as necessary?
    – Earthliŋ ♦
    Commented Sep 22, 2015 at 18:02
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    Not a bad idea. I might just do that.
    – YoungsterJoey
    Commented Sep 22, 2015 at 18:12

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The construct is more or less correct, but there are a few grammatical errors in your proposal.

アメリカで９月間ぐらいに住んでいます。

  1. I believe 住む takes に for the location of residence.

アメリカに住んでいます。

  1. 「９月間ぐらい」 should be 「9ヶ月間ぐらい」, and does not need to take any particles. Also note that the 「間」 may also be dropped here in less formal situations.

9ヶ月間ぐらいアメリカに住んでいます。

This should convey the idea that you have been living in the United States for 9 months, and still are.

Similarly,

１年間ぐらい日本語を勉強しています。

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    「9ヶ月くらい」「一年くらい」でもいいね・・・(「間」なしで・・)
    – chocolate ♦
    Commented Sep 23, 2015 at 6:09
  • @Shoko I didn't mean to imply that it was necessarily required, but that is a good point. Thanks!
    – seafood258
    Commented Sep 23, 2015 at 6:13
  • @Shoko Also, if I may ask, is the 間 also optional before 前に as well?
    – seafood258
    Commented Sep 23, 2015 at 6:15
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    You can edit your post to show that the 間 is optional (telling the OP that Xヶ月くらい/X年くらい is casually used). And, no you don't say 「[9ヶ月間]{きゅうかげつかん}[前]{まえ}」 or 「一年間前」. You'd say Xヶ月前・X年前(+に・から・まで etc.)... though you'd say X週間前! Don't ask me why :D
    – chocolate ♦
    Commented Sep 23, 2015 at 6:23
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    I think the reason for the discrepancy is that 時間 and 週間 are counter words, i.e., in the same class as 分, ヶ月, 年, etc. The 間 that attaches to 分, ヶ月, and 年 seems different... I think it means like "during", and hence 間前 means no sense ("before during"?). Of course, I have no idea why 間 is embedded in some counter words and not in others :-).
    – Darius Jahandarie
    Commented Sep 23, 2015 at 17:19
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住む　is indeed the correct verb, but you have to structure your sentence differently to make it clear that you are still living there. 前から is basically what you are looking for.

9か月前からアメリカに住んでいます。

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    I think that should be 9か月.
    – Earthliŋ ♦
    Commented Sep 22, 2015 at 20:42
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    アメリカ に 住んでいます would be more grammatically correct (で would be used in アメリカで暮らしています)
    – mirka
    Commented Sep 22, 2015 at 22:30
  • @Earthliŋ it should be ９ヶ月. It's pronounced カ but written as ヶ.
    – Ninj0r
    Commented Sep 23, 2015 at 7:01
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    「9か月」「9ヶ月」、どっちでも…。(「9箇月」「9ヵ月」なんてのも…)
    – chocolate ♦
    Commented Sep 23, 2015 at 8:13

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