このごろ describes what has been true lately

このごろ means “these days” or “lately.” It points to a recent period that includes the present, or at least feels connected to the speaker's current situation. It is especially useful for a habit that has been repeating, a condition that has continued, or a change that has become noticeable.

Several everyday shapes follow from that meaning. このごろは + statement makes the recent period a topic: “As for these days...” このごろ、よく + verb describes something that happens often lately. Expressions such as このごろ～ようになった and このごろ～なくなった report a recent change. You can also put の before a noun, as in このごろの生活, “life these days.”

最近（さいきん） overlaps strongly with このごろ. When you describe a current habit or condition, both このごろは and 最近は can sound natural in everyday conversation. 最近 can also point to one near-past moment, while a dictionary usage note says 最近 may cover the widest span of the two in some negative statements. Do not invent a hard rule that only one word is correct whenever both describe the current period.

このあいだ, by contrast, is a natural way to point back to the other day, a shared recent occasion, or a short bounded stretch. Compare このごろは毎朝歩いている, “I have been walking every morning lately,” with このあいだ公園を歩いた, “I walked in the park the other day.” The first summarizes a current pattern. The second reports one past outing.

Aya's mornings have changed

Ken and Aya work in the same office. For several weeks, Ken has noticed Aya at her desk earlier than before. One morning he finally mentions the repeated pattern.

来てる is the conversational contraction of 来ている. Ken is not identifying one early arrival. He has seen enough mornings to describe what has been characteristic recently. The final ね invites Aya to recognize the observation with him. This is a natural everyday job for このごろ: noticing that someone has been doing more, less, earlier, or differently than before.

Aya explains the new routine.

The particle は makes the recent period the topic, and 歩いてる presents the repeated routine as current. Final の gives an explanatory tone: Aya is supplying the reason Ken sees her early. The sentence does not specify when the routine began, only that it belongs to life lately.

After a few weeks of walking, Aya has noticed another change.

～ようになった describes a change that has come about. このごろ places that change in the recent period and connects it to Aya's present condition. Japan Foundation material uses the same time framing with このごろ、日本語の勉強が楽しくなりました, where studying has become enjoyable lately. The result remains true now, which is why “these days” fits naturally.

最近 can share the same current period

Ken says the work schedule has helped too. Their team has not needed as much overtime lately.

最近は is completely natural for this ongoing condition. In this sentence, このごろは、残業が少ないから would also sound natural. The useful lesson is the overlap: both can summarize the current period. 最近 also has uses that reach beyond this lesson's central pattern, including a near-past point such as having recently started a job. The surrounding statement matters more than forcing a one-word translation.

Aya's walking shoes are new. She bought them on one particular shopping trip, so she changes the time expression.

This sentence reports one completed purchase. このあいだ asks the listener to place it on a recent occasion, not to imagine a repeated shoe-buying habit. このごろ could locate a purchase somewhere in the recent period, but it would not identify “the other day” as directly. For an ordinary story about one outing, このあいだ is the clearer choice.

Aya sums up the effect of the routine, the sleep, and the easier work schedule.

Here このごろの + noun identifies the current version of Aya's life. The comparison with 前より, “than before,” makes the time contrast explicit. Similar phrases include このごろの仕事, “work these days,” and このごろの天気, “the weather lately.” Use this noun pattern when you want to characterize something as it has been in the recent period.

Both このごろ and この頃 are ordinary ways to write the word. The spelling 此の頃 is marked as a rare kanji form in JMdict. Kana keeps the reading immediate and is a safe everyday choice. The word can appear with or without は, depending on whether you want to make the recent period an explicit topic.

A practical check is to look at the rest of the sentence. Words such as 毎日, よく, ～ている, ～ようになった, and ～なくなった often describe the kind of repeating or developing situation that pairs well with このごろ. A single completed event can still occur within the recent period, but if the communicative point is one recognizable occasion, このあいだ usually makes that point more directly.