Japanese Grammar Bank

FREQUENCY IN JAPANESE

Learning how to express frequency in Japanese will help you to tell others how often something is done.

In English, those words are expressed by “always”, “sometimes”, and “never”.

Today, we are going to be looking at different types of basic frequency adverbs and learning how to use them naturally in a daily conversation.

FREQUENCY ADVERBS

How can we add a frequency adverb to a sentence to indicate how often something is done?

When using frequency adverbs in Japanese, they are placed before the verb or before a verb phrase.

Always

PATTERN

いつも + verb phrase

いつも (itsumo) means “always” in Japanese. This is the highest adverb in Japanese frequency. You can use it to express something you are doing all the time.

 学校の後、いつも野球をします。Gakko no ato, itsumo yakyuu wo shimasu.I always play baseball after school.
あの人はいつも笑っていますAno hitowa itsumo waratte imasu.That person is always smiling
View More Examples:
パーティーはいつも楽しいです。Paatii wa itsumo tanoshii desu.The party is always fun.
週末はいつも図書館に行きます。Shuumatsu wa itsumo toshokan ni ikimasu.I always go to the library on the weekend.  
彼はいつも親切です。Kare wa itsumo shinsetsu desu.He is always kind.
朝はいつもコーヒーを飲みます。Asa wa itsumo koohii wo nomimasu.I always drink coffee in the morning.

Sometimes

PATTERN

ときどき + verb phrase

ときどき (tokidoki) means “sometimes” in Japanese. This word is used to describe something not so frequent.

私はときどき母の家事を手伝います。Watashi wa tokidoki haha no kaji wo tetsudai masu.I sometimes help my mother with house chores.
彼女とときどき喧嘩をします。Kanojo to tokidoki kenka wo shimasu.I sometimes quarrel with my girlfriend.
View More Examples:
ときどきインドカレーが食べたくなります。Tokidoki indo karee ga tabetaku narimasu.I sometimes want to eat Indian curry.
家族でときどき映画を見に行きます。Tokidoki Kazoku de eiga wo mini ikimasu.We sometimes go and watch the movie as a family.
私はときどき風邪をひきます。Tokidoki kaze wo hikimasu.I sometimes catch a cold.
ときどき一人で旅行を楽しみます。Tokidoki hitori de ryokoo wo tanoshimi masu.I sometimes enjoy solo trips.

Occasionally

PATTERN

たまに+ verb phrase

たまに (tamani) means “occasionally” in Japanese. This can be used to describe something that happens once in a while. It is less frequent than ときどき.

父はたまにお酒を飲みます。Chichi wa tamani osake wo nomimasu.My father occasionally drinks alcohol
たまに悪夢を見ることがあります。Tamani akumu wo miru kotoga arimasu.I occasionally see a nightmare.
View More Examples:
仕事の後、たまにジムに行きます。Shigoto no ato tamani jimuni ikimasu.I occasionally go to gym after work.
ご飯はいつも家で食べますが、たまに外食に行きます。Gohan wa itsumo ie de tabemasu ga, tamani gaishoku ni ikimasu.I always eat at home, but occasionally go out to eat.
たまに元カノのことを考えてしまう。Tama ni motokano no koto wo kangaete shimau.I occasionally recall my ex-girlfriend.
おじいちゃんはたまに昔の話をします。Ojiichan wa tamani mukashi no hanashi wo shimasu.My grandfather occasionally talks about the old days.

INFREQUENCY ADVERBS

The Japanese language possess adverbs to describe how infrequent an activity or an event is.

When you use such adverbs, you need to conclude the sentence with ません (negative form of ます). Let’s see two different patterns.

Never

PATTERN

ぜんぜん+ verb phrase + negative form ません

ぜんぜん (zenzen) means “never” in Japanese. It is used with the negative form of the verb.

私はぜんぜんテレビを見ません。Watashi wa zenzen terebi wo mimasen.I never watch TV.
日本語はぜんぜん話せません。Nihongo wa zenzen hanasemasen.I cannot speak Japanese at all.
View More Examples:
学生時代、ぜんぜん勉強しませんでした。Gakusei jidai, zenzen benkyoo shimasen deshita.I didn’t study at all when I was student.
私の料理はぜんぜん美味しくありません。Watashi no ryouri wa zenzen oishiku arimasen.My food is not at all delicious.
  姉は野菜がぜんぜん好きじゃありません。Ane wa yasai ga zenzen suki ja arimasen.My sister never likes vegetable.
今年の冬はぜんぜん寒くありません。
Kotoshi no fuyu wa zenzen samuku arimasen.This winter is not at all cold.

Not very often

PATTERN

あまり+ verb phrase + negative form ません

あまり (amari) means “not very often” in Japanese. It is used to describe something that you don’t do very often.

友達はあまり勉強しません。Tomodachi wa amari benkyoo shimasen.My friend does not study very often.
私はあまり運動しません。Watashi wa amari undoo shimasen.I do not play sports very often.
View More Examples:
私はあまりお酒を飲みません。Watashi wa amari osake wo nomimasen.I do not drink alcohol very often.
私はあまり映画を見ません。Watashi wa amari eiga wo mimasen.I do not watch movie very often
私はあまり肉を食べません。Watashi wa amari niku wo tabemasen.I do not eat meat very often.
私の家族はあまり外食をしません。Watashi no Kazoku wa amari gaishoku wo shimasen.My family does not eat out very often.

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FAQs

How to express frequency in Japanese?

Frequency in Japanese is commonly expressed using words like よく (yoku) for “often,” たまに (tamani) for “sometimes,” いつも (itsumo) for “always,” and まったく (mattaku) for “never.”

These frequency adverbs are used to describe how often an action occurs.

What sentence structure for frequency adverbs?

Frequency adverbs typically come before the verb. For example, “I often eat sushi” would be 私はよく寿司を食べます (Watashi wa yoku sushi o tabemasu).

The adverb よく (yoku) comes before the verb 食べます (tabemasu), meaning “to eat.”

How to say once a week in Japanese?

To express specific frequencies like “once a week,” you use the pattern: [frequency] に [period].

For example, “once a week” is 週に一回 (shuu ni ikkai), and “twice a month” is 月に二回 (tsuki ni nikai).

How to say never in Japanese?

To express “never,” you can use まったく (mattaku) or 全然 (zenzen) in combination with a negative verb.

For example, “I never eat sushi” would be 私はまったく寿司を食べません (Watashi wa mattaku sushi o tabemasen).

What difference between always and often?

いつも (itsumo) means “always” and indicates that something happens every time without exception.

よく (yoku) means “often” and suggests that something happens frequently, but not necessarily every time.

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