Japanese - Frequency

Lesson 36 of 168

A friendly scene of two people chatting in Japanese about their weekly routines — lesson topic: frequency expressions in Japanese.

Goal: Talk about how often you do things

Free Japanese lessons with guided practice, audio, and speaking support.

Welcome back! In this short lesson we’ll practice common phrases to talk about how often you do activities. Say them out loud and imagine real-life answers — it helps cement the rhythm. Have fun — a little frequency talk goes a long way in conversation!

Level A2: This lesson focuses on polite frequency phrases like よく___ますか。, 週に1回___ます。, たいてい___ます。, and ぜんぜん___ません。You’ll hear these frames in a mini-dialogue, practice picking the right phrase, and then speak each chunk aloud. CEFR-aligned and very practical — learn to say how often you do things.

After this lesson you'll be able to:

  • Recognize and use simple frequency questions and answers (よく___ますか。, 週に何回___ますか。).
  • Say approximate frequencies: 週に1回、週に___回ぐらいです、月に一回など (speak and repeat).
  • Practice short dialogues asking and answering how often activities happen (A2 level).
A cozy café where learners practice asking 'よく___ますか' and '週に何回___ますか' — a casual language-exchange scene in Japanese.

Ready? Let's go!

When you tap play on phrases, we track your progress through this lesson.

1. Reading + Listening Practice

Hear core phrases, repeat aloud.

よく___ますか。

Yoku ___ masu ka.

Do you often ___?

Meaning: Do you often ___?

When to use: Use this to ask if someone does an action often. Put the verb stem (the form before ます) in the blank. Polite form. Casual: よく___る？

Tip: Forgetting to use the verb stem (the part before ます). Put 行き or 見 in the blank, not 行きます or 見ます。

よく映画を見ますか。

Yoku eiga o mimasu ka.

Do you often watch movies?
よくカフェに行きますか。

Yoku kafe ni ikimasu ka.

Do you often go to cafés?

週に1回、___ます。

Shū ni ikkai, ___ masu.

I ___ once a week.

Meaning: I ___ once a week.

When to use: Say this to tell someone you do an action one time per week. Put the verb stem before ます in the blank.

週に1回、映画を見ます。

Shū ni ikkai, eiga o mimasu.

I watch movies once a week.
週に1回、友だちに会います。

Shū ni ikkai, tomodachi ni aimasu.

I meet friends once a week.

週に___回、___ます。

Shū ni ___ kai, ___ masu.

I ___ ___ times a week.

Meaning: I ___ ___ times a week.

When to use: Use this to say a specific number of times per week. Put the number in the first blank and the verb stem in the second blank.

Tip: Putting the number in the wrong place or forgetting '回' after the number. Use 週に2回, not 2週に回.

週に2回、テニスをします。

Shū ni ni kai, tenisu o shimasu.

I play tennis twice a week.
週に3回、英語を勉強します。

Shū ni san kai, Eigo o benkyō shimasu.

I study English three times a week.

たいてい___ます。

Taitei ___ masu.

I usually ___.

Meaning: I usually ___.

When to use: Say this to express a usual habit. Put the verb stem in the blank. 'ふつう___ます' is also natural.

たいてい朝ごはんを作ります。

Taitei asagohan o tsukurimasu.

I usually make breakfast.
たいてい電車で会社へ行きます。

Taitei densha de kaisha e ikimasu.

I usually go to work by train.

ときどき___ます。

Tokidoki ___ masu.

I sometimes ___.

Meaning: I sometimes ___.

When to use: Use this to say an action happens occasionally. Put the verb stem in the blank.

ときどき映画館へ行きます。

Tokidoki eigakan e ikimasu.

I sometimes go to the cinema.
ときどき遅くまで仕事します。

Tokidoki osoku made shigoto shimasu.

I sometimes work late.

あまり___ません。

Amari ___ masen.

I don't ___ very often.

Meaning: I don't ___ very often.

When to use: Use with negative verb forms to say you rarely do something. Put the verb stem in the blank (before ません).

Tip: Remember あまり goes with the negative (あまり___ません). Don't use it with a positive verb form.

あまり映画を見ません。

Amari eiga o mimasen.

I don't watch movies very often.
あまりお酒を飲みません。

Amari osake o nomimasen.

I don't drink alcohol much.

ぜんぜん___ません。

Zenzen ___ masen.

I never ___.

Meaning: I never ___.

When to use: Use this for strong negative: put the verb stem in the blank before ません to say you never do something.

ぜんぜんタバコを吸いません。

Zenzen tabako o suimasen.

I never smoke.
ぜんぜんスポーツをしません。

Zenzen supōtsu o shimasen.

I never play sports.

週に___回ぐらいです。

Shū ni ___ kai gurai desu.

About ___ times a week.

Meaning: About ___ times a week.

When to use: Give an approximate weekly frequency. Put a number in the blank before '回'. 'ぐらい' expresses 'about'.

週に2回ぐらいです。

Shū ni ni kai gurai desu.

About twice a week.
週に3回ぐらい運動します。

Shū ni san kai gurai undō shimasu.

I exercise about three times a week.

週に何回___ますか。

Shū ni nankai ___ masu ka.

How many times a week do you ___?

Meaning: How many times a week do you ___?

When to use: Ask for a number of times per week. Put the verb stem in the blank (before ます).

週に何回ジムへ行きますか。

Shū ni nankai jimu e ikimasu ka.

How many times a week do you go to the gym?
週に何回友だちに会いますか。

Shū ni nankai tomodachi ni aimasu ka.

How many times a week do you meet friends?

ほとんど毎日___ます。

Hotondo mainichi ___ masu.

I ___ almost every day.

Meaning: I ___ almost every day.

When to use: Say that something happens most days. Put the verb stem before ます in the blank.

ほとんど毎日、英語を勉強します。

Hotondo mainichi, Eigo o benkyō shimasu.

I study English almost every day.
ほとんど毎日ジョギングします。

Hotondo mainichi jogingu shimasu.

I jog almost every day.

月に一回___ます。

Tsuki ni ikkai ___ masu.

I ___ once a month.

Meaning: I ___ once a month.

When to use: Use this to say an action happens monthly. Put the verb stem in the blank before ます.

月に一回、美容院へ行きます。

Tsuki ni ikkai, biyōin e ikimasu.

I go to the hairdresser once a month.
月に一回、友だちと食事します。

Tsuki ni ikkai, tomodachi to shokuji shimasu.

I have a meal with friends once a month.

月に二回___ます。

Tsuki ni nikai ___ masu.

I ___ twice a month.

Meaning: I ___ twice a month.

When to use: Say an action happens two times a month. Put the verb stem in the blank before ます.

月に二回、ミーティングがあります。

Tsuki ni nikai, mītingu ga arimasu.

There are meetings twice a month.
月に二回、掃除します。

Tsuki ni nikai, sōji shimasu.

I clean twice a month.

月に何回か___ます。

Tsuki ni nankai ka ___ masu.

I ___ a few times a month.

Meaning: I ___ a few times a month.

When to use: Use this to say something happens several times a month. Put the verb stem in the blank before ます.

月に何回か、友だちと旅行します。

Tsuki ni nankai ka, tomodachi to ryokō shimasu.

I travel with friends a few times a month.
月に何回か、外食します。

Tsuki ni nankai ka, gaishoku shimasu.

I eat out a few times a month.

2. Conversational Listening Practice

Hear phrases in a real mini-conversation.

At a café, Anna asks David about exercise frequency.

Anna and David talking about how often they go to the gym and jog — a natural example of frequency expressions in Japanese.

How often does David go to the gym?

Portrait of Anna in a Japanese lesson dialogue

Anna

こんにちは、デイビッドさん。よくジムへ行きますか。

Konnichiwa, Deibiddo-san. Yoku jimu e ikimasu ka.

Hi David. Do you often go to the gym?

Portrait of David in a Japanese lesson dialogue

David

こんにちは、アンナさん。たいてい週に2回行きます。

Konnichiwa, Anna-san. Taitei shū ni ni kai ikimasu.

Hi Anna. I usually go twice a week.

Portrait of Anna in a Japanese lesson dialogue

Anna

ときどき友だちと一緒に走りますか。

Tokidoki tomodachi to issho ni hashirimasu ka.

Do you sometimes run with friends?

Portrait of David in a Japanese lesson dialogue

David

はい、でも友だちとはあまり走りません。ジムで練習します。

Hai, demo tomodachi to wa amari hashirimasen. Jimu de renshū shimasu.

Yes, but I don't run with friends very often. I practice at the gym.

Portrait of Anna in a Japanese lesson dialogue

Anna

週に何回ジョギングをしますか。

Shū ni nankai jogingu o shimasu ka.

How many times a week do you jog?

Portrait of David in a Japanese lesson dialogue

David

ほとんど毎日、短く走ります。

Hotondo mainichi, mijikaku hashirimasu.

I run a little almost every day.

3. Guided Practice

Quizzes and matching to lock in meaning.

Which Japanese sentence asks 'Do you often watch movies?'

Which sentence means 'I never drink alcohol.'?

Which phrase asks 'How many times a week do you study?'

Which sentence means 'About three times a week.'?

I play tennis twice a week for my health.

テニスは健康のために、週に___回、します。

Yes, I usually practice in the park on Sundays.

サッカーが好きですか。はい、たいてい日曜日に公園で___ます。

I don't eat sweets very often. I only have cake once a month.

甘いものは、あまり___ません。ケーキは月に一回だけです。

Match the core phrases

Match the extra phrases

4. Speaking Practice

Say phrases yourself (mic/recording).

Recording stays on your device only. Check speech uses your browser's speech tools when available.

Say this phrase out loud:

よく___ますか。

Yoku ___ masu ka.

Do you often ___?

Say this phrase out loud:

週に1回、___ます。

Shū ni ikkai, ___ masu.

I ___ once a week.

Say this phrase out loud:

週に___回、___ます。

Shū ni ___ kai, ___ masu.

I ___ ___ times a week.

Say this phrase out loud:

たいてい___ます。

Taitei ___ masu.

I usually ___.

Say this phrase out loud:

ときどき___ます。

Tokidoki ___ masu.

I sometimes ___.

Say this phrase out loud:

あまり___ません。

Amari ___ masen.

I don't ___ very often.

Say this phrase out loud:

ぜんぜん___ません。

Zenzen ___ masen.

I never ___.

Say this phrase out loud:

週に___回ぐらいです。

Shū ni ___ kai gurai desu.

About ___ times a week.

Say this phrase out loud:

週に何回___ますか。

Shū ni nankai ___ masu ka.

How many times a week do you ___?

Say this phrase out loud:

ほとんど毎日___ます。

Hotondo mainichi ___ masu.

I ___ almost every day.

Say this phrase out loud:

月に一回___ます。

Tsuki ni ikkai ___ masu.

I ___ once a month.

Say this phrase out loud:

月に二回___ます。

Tsuki ni nikai ___ masu.

I ___ twice a month.

Say this phrase out loud:

月に何回か___ます。

Tsuki ni nankai ka ___ masu.

I ___ a few times a month.