Want to describe how often you do something in Chinese?
In this lesson you'll learn the most useful adverbs for expressing frequency!
Chinese Frequency Adverbs
No. | 100% Always |
|---|---|
1 | 总是 zǒng shì 我总是早上刷牙。 wǒ zǒng shì zǎo shàng shuā yá. I always brush my teeth in the morning. |
2 | 老是 lǎo shì (This word is normally used when complaining in spoken Chinese.) 你怎么老是上课迟到？ nǐ zěn me lǎo shì shàng kè chí dào？ Why are you always late for class? |
3 | 一直 yī zhí 别担心! 我会一直在你身边。 bié dān xīn! wǒ huì yī zhí zài nǐ shēn biān. Don't worry! I will always be by your side. |
No. | 90% Usually |
|---|---|
1 | 平常 píng cháng 她平常午饭只吃一个三明治。 tā píng cháng wǔ fàn zhǐ chī yī gè sān míng zhì. She usually just has a sandwich for lunch. |
2 | 平时 píng shí 他平时早上六点起床。 tā píng shí zǎo shang liù diǎn qǐ chuáng. He usually gets up at six in the morning. |
No. | 80% Normally / Generally |
|---|---|
1 | 通常 tōng cháng 我通常早上喝一杯咖啡。 wǒ tōng cháng zǎo shàng hē yī bēi kā fēi. I normally drink a cup of coffee in the morning. |
2 | 一般 yī bān 她一般每天工作8个小时。 tā yī bān měi tiān gōng zuò 8 gè xiǎo shí. She normally works 8 hours a day. |
No. | 70% Often / Frequently |
|---|---|
1 | 经常 jīng cháng 他经常坐地铁去上班。 tā jīng cháng zuò de tiě qù shàng bān. He often takes the metro to work. |
2 | 常常 cháng cháng 我爸妈常常饭后散步。 wǒ bà mā cháng cháng fàn hòu sàn bù. My parents often go for a walk after dinner. |
No. | 50% Sometimes |
|---|---|
1 | 我有时候会做饭，但不是很经常。 wǒ yǒu shí hou huì zuò fàn， dàn bù shì hěn jīng cháng. I do cook sometimes, but not very often. |
2 | 他有时会开一些奇怪的玩笑。 tā yǒu shí huì kāi yī xiē qí guài de wán xiào. He sometimes makes weird jokes. |
No. | 30% Occasionally |
|---|---|
1 | 偶尔 ǒu ěr 我偶尔在地铁上见到他。 wǒ ǒu ěr zài dì tiě shàng jiàn dào tā. I see him occasionally on the metro. |
2 | 偶然 ǒu rán (This word is used in more incidental situations, you don't plan to do it.) 她今天偶然遇见了她的前男友。 tā jīn tiān ǒu rán yù jiàn le tā de qián nán yǒu. She met her ex-boyfriend by chance today. |
No. | 10% Seldom |
|---|---|
1 | 很少 hěn shǎo 他很少哭。 tā hěn shǎo kū. He seldom cries. |
No. | 5% Hardly ever / Rarely |
|---|---|
1 | 极少 jí shǎo （It literlly means“extremely + few” ） 她极少做瑜伽。 tā jí shǎo zuò yú jiā. She rarely does yoga. |
2 | 几乎不 jǐ hū bù 她几乎不说脏话。 tā jǐ hū bù shuō zàng huà。 She rarely swears.
|
3 | 几乎没有 jǐ hū méi yǒu 他几乎没有生气过。 tā jǐ hū méi yǒu shēng qì guò. He was hardly ever angry. |
4 | 难得 nán dé （It literlly means“difficult + to get”） 我们难得见面，你多呆一会儿吧。 wǒ men nán dé jiàn miàn， nǐ duō dāi yī huì ér ba. Stay a bit longer, we rarely have a chance to get together. |
No. | 0% Never |
|---|---|
1 | 从不 cóng bù 我弟弟从不看恐怖片。 wǒ dì di cóng bù kàn kǒng bù piàn. My younger brother never watches horror movies. |
2 | 绝不 jué bù 我绝不会放弃你。 wǒ jué bù huì fàng qì nǐ. I will never give up on you.
|
3 | 从来不 cóng lái bù 妈妈从来不穿高跟鞋。 mā mā cóng lái bù chuān gāo gēn xié. Mom never wears high heels. |
4 | 从来没有 cóng lái méi yǒu (have never / never before) 他从来没有去过迪士尼。 tā cóng lái méi yǒu qù guò dí shì ní. He has never been to Disneyland. |
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