Traditional Chinese - Frequency

Lesson 36 of 152

A cozy Taiwan café scene with friends chatting about weekly routines, with Traditional Chinese text for a Taiwan Mandarin lesson on frequency.

Goal: Talk about how often things happen in everyday Taiwan Mandarin.

Free traditional Chinese lessons with Taiwan Mandarin audio and speaking practice.

Welcome back! Today we’re putting your weekly habits on the table: coffee, exercise, eating out, and all the little routines that make life life.

Level A2: In this lesson, you’ll practice asking “Do you often…?” with 你常常___嗎？ (Nǐ chángcháng ___ ma?) and answering with phrases like 我一個禮拜___一次 (Wǒ yí ge lǐbài ___ yí cì), 我通常會___ (Wǒ tōngcháng huì ___), and 我從來不___ (Wǒ cónglái bù ___). You’ll also learn how people in Taiwan naturally say “a week” with 一個禮拜 (yí ge lǐbài). Tiny habit talk, big conversation power.

After this lesson you'll be able to:

  • Ask how often someone does something with 你常常___嗎？ (Nǐ chángcháng ___ ma?) and 你一個禮拜會 ___ 幾次？ (Nǐ yí ge lǐbài huì ___ jǐ cì?).
  • Say weekly and monthly frequency using 一個禮拜 (yí ge lǐbài) and 一個月 (yí ge yuè).
  • Describe habits with 通常 (tōngcháng), 有時候 (yǒu shíhòu), 不太常 (bú tài cháng), 從來不 (cónglái bù), and 幾乎每天都 (jīhū měi tiān dōu).
A learner looking at a weekly planner with coffee, gym, and dinner icons, introducing Traditional Chinese frequency phrases in Taiwan Mandarin.

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.

你常常___嗎？

Nǐ chángcháng ___ ma?

Do you often ___?

Meaning: 你常常___嗎？ (Nǐ chángcháng ___ ma?) means “Do you often ___?”

When to use: Use it to ask if an action happens often, like drinking coffee, exercising, or eating out.

Tip: Don’t put 嗎 (ma) in the middle. Put it at the end: 你常常運動嗎？ (Nǐ chángcháng yùndòng ma?)

你常常喝咖啡嗎？

Nǐ chángcháng hē kāfēi ma?

Do you often drink coffee?
你常常運動嗎

Nǐ chángcháng yùndòng ma?

Do you often exercise?

我一個禮拜___一次。

Wǒ yí ge lǐbài ___ yí cì.

I ___ once a week.

Meaning: 我一個禮拜___一次。 (Wǒ yí ge lǐbài ___ yí cì.) means “I ___ once a week.”

When to use: Use it when something happens one time every week. In Taiwan, 一個禮拜 (yí ge lǐbài) is very common for “one week.”

我一個禮拜運動一次。

Wǒ yí ge lǐbài yùndòng yí cì.

I exercise once a week.
我一個禮拜看電影一次。

Wǒ yí ge lǐbài kàn diànyǐng yí cì.

I watch a movie once a week.

我一個禮拜___ ___次。

Wǒ yí ge lǐbài ___ ___ cì.

I ___ ___ times a week.

Meaning: 我一個禮拜___ ___次。 (Wǒ yí ge lǐbài ___ ___ cì.) means “I ___ ___ times a week.”

When to use: Use it for two or more times a week. The second blank is usually a number like 兩 (liǎng) or 三 (sān).

Tip: For “two times,” use 兩次 (liǎng cì), not 二次 (èr cì), in everyday speech.

我一個禮拜跑步三次。

Wǒ yí ge lǐbài pǎobù sān cì.

I run three times a week.
我一個禮拜煮飯兩次。

Wǒ yí ge lǐbài zhǔfàn liǎng cì.

I cook twice a week.

我通常會___。

Wǒ tōngcháng huì ___.

I usually ___.

Meaning: 我通常會___。 (Wǒ tōngcháng huì ___.) means “I usually ___.”

When to use: Use it to describe what you normally do. Here 會 (huì) shows a habit, not necessarily the future.

我通常會在家吃早餐。

Wǒ tōngcháng huì zài jiā chī zǎocān.

I usually eat breakfast at home.
我通常會坐捷運上班。

Wǒ tōngcháng huì zuò jiéyùn shàngbān.

I usually take the MRT to work.

我有時候會___。

Wǒ yǒu shíhòu huì ___.

I sometimes ___.

Meaning: 我有時候會___。 (Wǒ yǒu shíhòu huì ___.) means “I sometimes ___.”

When to use: Use it when something happens occasionally, but not all the time.

我有時候會喝茶。

Wǒ yǒu shíhòu huì hē chá.

I sometimes drink tea.
我有時候會去夜市。

Wǒ yǒu shíhòu huì qù yèshì.

I sometimes go to the night market.

我不太常___。

Wǒ bú tài cháng ___.

I don't ___ very often.

Meaning: 我不太常___。 (Wǒ bú tài cháng ___.) means “I don’t ___ very often.”

When to use: Use it for a soft, natural way to say you rarely do something.

我不太常吃甜點。

Wǒ bú tài cháng chī tiándiǎn.

I don’t eat dessert very often.
我不太常開車

Wǒ bú tài cháng kāichē.

I don’t drive very often.

我從來不___。

Wǒ cónglái bù ___.

I never ___.

Meaning: 我從來不___。 (Wǒ cónglái bù ___.) means “I never ___.”

When to use: Use it to strongly say something does not happen at all.

我從來不抽菸

Wǒ cónglái bù chōuyān.

I never smoke.
我從來不喝酒

Wǒ cónglái bù hējiǔ.

I never drink alcohol.

大概一個禮拜___次。

Dàgài yí ge lǐbài ___ cì.

About ___ times a week.

Meaning: 大概一個禮拜___次。 (Dàgài yí ge lǐbài ___ cì.) means “About ___ times a week.”

When to use: Use it as a short answer when you don’t need a full sentence.

Tip: 大概 (dàgài) means “about,” so it is great when you are estimating.

大概一個禮拜三次。

Dàgài yí ge lǐbài sān cì.

About three times a week.
大概一個禮拜兩次。

Dàgài yí ge lǐbài liǎng cì.

About twice a week.

你一個禮拜會 ___ 幾次？

Nǐ yí ge lǐbài huì ___ jǐ cì?

How many times a week do you ___?

Meaning: 你一個禮拜會 ___ 幾次？ (Nǐ yí ge lǐbài huì ___ jǐ cì?) means “How many times a week do you ___?”

When to use: Use it to ask for a weekly number, such as how many times someone cooks, exercises, or eats out.

你一個禮拜會運動幾次？

Nǐ yí ge lǐbài huì yùndòng jǐ cì?

How many times a week do you exercise?
你一個禮拜會外食幾次？

Nǐ yí ge lǐbài huì wàishí jǐ cì?

How many times a week do you eat out?

我幾乎每天都 ___。

Wǒ jīhū měi tiān dōu ___.

I ___ almost every day.

Meaning: 我幾乎每天都 ___。 (Wǒ jīhū měi tiān dōu ___.) means “I ___ almost every day.”

When to use: Use it when something happens on most days, but maybe not literally every single day.

我幾乎每天都喝咖啡。

Wǒ jīhū měi tiān dōu hē kāfēi.

I drink coffee almost every day.
我幾乎每天都走路。

Wǒ jīhū měi tiān dōu zǒulù.

I walk almost every day.

我一個月會 ___ 一次。

Wǒ yí ge yuè huì ___ yí cì.

I ___ once a month.

Meaning: 我一個月會 ___ 一次。 (Wǒ yí ge yuè huì ___ yí cì.) means “I ___ once a month.”

When to use: Use it for something that happens one time each month.

我一個月會剪頭髮一次。

Wǒ yí ge yuè huì jiǎn tóufǎ yí cì.

I get a haircut once a month.
我一個月會看牙醫一次。

Wǒ yí ge yuè huì kàn yáyī yí cì.

I see the dentist once a month.

我一個月會 ___ 兩次。

Wǒ yí ge yuè huì ___ liǎng cì.

I ___ twice a month.

Meaning: 我一個月會 ___ 兩次。 (Wǒ yí ge yuè huì ___ liǎng cì.) means “I ___ twice a month.”

When to use: Use it for something that happens two times each month.

我一個月會看電影兩次。

Wǒ yí ge yuè huì kàn diànyǐng liǎng cì.

I watch movies twice a month.
我一個月會去台北兩次。

Wǒ yí ge yuè huì qù Táiběi liǎng cì.

I go to Taipei twice a month.

我一個月會 ___ 幾次。

Wǒ yí ge yuè huì ___ jǐ cì.

I ___ a few times a month.

Meaning: 我一個月會 ___ 幾次。 (Wǒ yí ge yuè huì ___ jǐ cì.) means “I ___ a few times a month.”

When to use: Use it in a statement when the exact number is loose, like “a few times a month.”

我一個月會買衣服幾次。

Wǒ yí ge yuè huì mǎi yīfú jǐ cì.

I buy clothes a few times a month.
我一個月會跟朋友吃飯幾次。

Wǒ yí ge yuè huì gēn péngyǒu chīfàn jǐ cì.

I eat with friends a few times a month.

2. Conversational Listening Practice

Hear phrases in a real mini-conversation.

Anna and David are chatting about habits in a café.

Anna and David talking casually in a bright Taipei café, practicing Traditional Chinese Taiwan Mandarin phrases about how often they do things.

What are Anna and David mostly talking about?

Portrait of Anna in a Traditional Chinese lesson dialogue

Anna

你常常運動嗎

Nǐ chángcháng yùndòng ma?

Do you often exercise?

Portrait of David in a Traditional Chinese lesson dialogue

David

我一個禮拜運動三次。你呢？

Wǒ yí ge lǐbài yùndòng sān cì. Nǐ ne?

I exercise three times a week. How about you?

Portrait of Anna in a Traditional Chinese lesson dialogue

Anna

我不太常運動，不過我幾乎每天都走路。

Wǒ bú tài cháng yùndòng, búguò wǒ jīhū měi tiān dōu zǒulù.

I don’t exercise very often, but I walk almost every day.

Portrait of David in a Traditional Chinese lesson dialogue

David

你一個禮拜會喝咖啡幾次？

Nǐ yí ge lǐbài huì hē kāfēi jǐ cì?

How many times a week do you drink coffee?

Portrait of Anna in a Traditional Chinese lesson dialogue

Anna

大概一個禮拜五次。我有時候會喝茶。

Dàgài yí ge lǐbài wǔ cì. Wǒ yǒu shíhòu huì hē chá.

About five times a week. I sometimes drink tea.

Portrait of David in a Traditional Chinese lesson dialogue

David

我從來不喝咖啡，我通常會喝水。

Wǒ cónglái bù hē kāfēi, wǒ tōngcháng huì hē shuǐ.

I never drink coffee. I usually drink water.

3. Guided Practice

Quizzes and matching to lock in meaning.

How do you ask “Do you often exercise?”

Which sentence means “I cook twice a week”?

Which phrase is a natural short answer for “About three times a week”?

Which sentence means “I drink coffee almost every day”?

I sometimes drink tea.

我不每天喝茶，可是下午想放鬆時，我___喝茶。

How many times a week do you exercise?

你最近開始健身，___運動幾次？

I watch movies twice a month.

我喜歡看電影，不過工作很忙，所以我一個月會看電影___。

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:

你常常___嗎？

Nǐ chángcháng ___ ma?

Do you often ___?

Say this phrase out loud:

我一個禮拜___一次。

Wǒ yí ge lǐbài ___ yí cì.

I ___ once a week.

Say this phrase out loud:

我一個禮拜___ ___次。

Wǒ yí ge lǐbài ___ ___ cì.

I ___ ___ times a week.

Say this phrase out loud:

我通常會___。

Wǒ tōngcháng huì ___.

I usually ___.

Say this phrase out loud:

我有時候會___。

Wǒ yǒu shíhòu huì ___.

I sometimes ___.

Say this phrase out loud:

我不太常___。

Wǒ bú tài cháng ___.

I don't ___ very often.

Say this phrase out loud:

我從來不___。

Wǒ cónglái bù ___.

I never ___.

Say this phrase out loud:

大概一個禮拜___次。

Dàgài yí ge lǐbài ___ cì.

About ___ times a week.

Say this phrase out loud:

你一個禮拜會 ___ 幾次？

Nǐ yí ge lǐbài huì ___ jǐ cì?

How many times a week do you ___?

Say this phrase out loud:

我幾乎每天都 ___。

Wǒ jīhū měi tiān dōu ___.

I ___ almost every day.

Say this phrase out loud:

我一個月會 ___ 一次。

Wǒ yí ge yuè huì ___ yí cì.

I ___ once a month.

Say this phrase out loud:

我一個月會 ___ 兩次。

Wǒ yí ge yuè huì ___ liǎng cì.

I ___ twice a month.

Say this phrase out loud:

我一個月會 ___ 幾次。

Wǒ yí ge yuè huì ___ jǐ cì.

I ___ a few times a month.