Traditional Chinese - How Often?

Lesson 37 of 152

A bright café scene in Taiwan with a learner looking at a weekly planner, practicing Traditional Chinese Taiwan Mandarin phrases about how often habits happen.

Goal: Talk about daily routines, weekend habits, and things that only happen once in a while.

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

Welcome back! Today we’re putting a tiny frequency engine into your Mandarin: rarely, often, most days, weekends, and “not every day.”

Level A2: you’ll practice saying how often things happen in your life, from 我常常___ (Wǒ chángcháng ___) to 我偶爾會___ (Wǒ ǒu'ěr huì ___). These phrases are great for real chats in Taiwan about routines, exercise, studying, coffee, and all the little habits that make a day feel like your day. Frequency may sound serious, but don’t worry—Yak Yacker will keep it more “snack-size” than “calendar spreadsheet.”

After this lesson you'll be able to:

  • Ask how often something happens with 這種事多久會發生一次？ (Zhè zhǒng shì duōjiǔ huì fāshēng yí cì?)
  • Talk about frequent habits using 我常常___ (Wǒ chángcháng ___) and daily patterns like 你每天都___嗎？ (Nǐ měitiān dōu ___ ma?)
  • Describe less frequent actions with 我很少___ (Wǒ hěn shǎo ___), 我偶爾會___ (Wǒ ǒu'ěr huì ___), and 不是每天都會 (Bú shì měitiān dōu huì)
  • At A2, sound more natural when describing routines in the morning, evening, on weekends, and every two weeks
A friendly morning street scene in Taiwan with breakfast shops opening, showing Traditional Chinese Taiwan Mandarin routine phrases for frequency and daily habits.

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.

我很少 ___

Wǒ hěn shǎo ___.

I rarely ___.

Meaning: I rarely ___.

When to use: Use this when something almost never happens or you almost never do it.

Tip: Don’t put 很少 (hěn shǎo) after the verb here. Say 我很少喝咖啡 (Wǒ hěn shǎo hē kāfēi), not 我喝咖啡很少 (Wǒ hē kāfēi hěn shǎo).

我很少喝酒

Wǒ hěn shǎo hējiǔ.

I rarely drink alcohol.
我很少坐計程車。

Wǒ hěn shǎo zuò jìchéngchē.

I rarely take taxis.

我常常___

Wǒ chángcháng ___.

I ___ all the time.

Meaning: I ___ all the time.

When to use: Use this for something you do very often, naturally and casually.

我常常喝咖啡

Wǒ chángcháng hē kāfēi.

I drink coffee all the time.
我常常看電影

Wǒ chángcháng kàn diànyǐng.

I watch movies all the time.

這種事多久會發生一次？

Zhè zhǒng shì duōjiǔ huì fāshēng yí cì?

How often does it happen?

Meaning: How often does it happen?

When to use: Use this to ask about the frequency of a situation or event.

Tip: Use 一次 (yí cì) at the end when asking “once how often.” It makes the frequency question sound complete.

這種事多久會發生一次？

Zhè zhǒng shì duōjiǔ huì fāshēng yí cì?

How often does this kind of thing happen?
在你公司，這種事多久會發生一次？

Zài nǐ gōngsī, zhè zhǒng shì duōjiǔ huì fāshēng yí cì?

At your company, how often does this kind of thing happen?

你每天都___嗎？

Nǐ měitiān dōu ___ ma?

Do you ___ every day?

Meaning: Do you ___ every day?

When to use: Use this to ask if someone does an action daily.

Tip: In this pattern, 都 (dōu) helps mean “every single day.” Keep it after 每天 (měitiān): 你每天都___嗎？ (Nǐ měitiān dōu ___ ma?)

你每天都運動嗎？

Nǐ měitiān dōu yùndòng ma?

Do you exercise every day?
你每天都煮飯嗎？

Nǐ měitiān dōu zhǔfàn ma?

Do you cook every day?

我大部分日子都會___。

Wǒ dà bùfen rìzi dōu huì ___.

I ___ most days.

Meaning: I ___ most days.

When to use: Use this when something happens on most days, but not necessarily every day.

我大部分日子都會走路上班。

Wǒ dà bùfen rìzi dōu huì zǒulù shàngbān.

I walk to work most days.
我大部分日子都會自己煮飯。

Wǒ dà bùfen rìzi dōu huì zìjǐ zhǔfàn.

I cook for myself most days.

我每天早上都會___。

Wǒ měitiān zǎoshang dōu huì ___.

I ___ every morning.

Meaning: I ___ every morning.

When to use: Use this for a regular morning routine.

我每天早上都會喝咖啡。

Wǒ měitiān zǎoshang dōu huì hē kāfēi.

I drink coffee every morning.
我每天早上都會看新聞。

Wǒ měitiān zǎoshang dōu huì kàn xīnwén.

I read/watch the news every morning.

我每天晚上都會___。

Wǒ měitiān wǎnshang dōu huì ___.

I ___ every evening.

Meaning: I ___ every evening.

When to use: Use this for a regular evening or night routine.

我每天晚上都會散步。

Wǒ měitiān wǎnshang dōu huì sànbù.

I take a walk every evening.
我每天晚上都會看書。

Wǒ měitiān wǎnshang dōu huì kàn shū.

I read every evening.

我週末都會___。

Wǒ zhōumò dōu huì ___.

I ___ on weekends.

Meaning: I ___ on weekends.

When to use: Use this for something you usually do on weekends.

我週末都會去市場。

Wǒ zhōumò dōu huì qù shìchǎng.

I go to the market on weekends.
我週末都會跟朋友吃飯。

Wǒ zhōumò dōu huì gēn péngyǒu chīfàn.

I eat with friends on weekends.

我偶爾會___。

Wǒ ǒu'ěr huì ___.

I ___ once in a while.

Meaning: I ___ once in a while.

When to use: Use this for something that happens sometimes, but not often.

我偶爾會喝珍珠奶茶。

Wǒ ǒu'ěr huì hē zhēnzhū nǎichá.

I drink bubble tea once in a while.
我偶爾會去爬山。

Wǒ ǒu'ěr huì qù páshān.

I go hiking once in a while.

我每兩個星期會___一次。

Wǒ měi liǎng ge xīngqí huì ___ yí cì.

I ___ every two weeks.

Meaning: I ___ every two weeks.

When to use: Use this when an action happens at two-week intervals.

我每兩個星期會剪頭髮一次。

Wǒ měi liǎng ge xīngqí huì jiǎn tóufǎ yí cì.

I get a haircut every two weeks.
我每兩個星期會打掃房間一次。

Wǒ měi liǎng ge xīngqí huì dǎsǎo fángjiān yí cì.

I clean my room every two weeks.

沒有以前那麼常了。

Méiyǒu yǐqián nàme cháng le.

Not as often as before.

Meaning: Not as often as before.

When to use: Use this as a short answer when the frequency has gone down.

沒有以前那麼常了。

Méiyǒu yǐqián nàme cháng le.

Not as often as before.
我還是會去健身房，可是沒有以前那麼常了。

Wǒ háishì huì qù jiànshēnfáng, kěshì méiyǒu yǐqián nàme cháng le.

I still go to the gym, but not as often as before.

不是每天都會

Bú shì měitiān dōu huì.

Not every day.

Meaning: Not every day.

When to use: Use this when something happens regularly, but not daily.

不是每天都會

Bú shì měitiān dōu huì.

Not every day.
我會運動，可是不是每天都會。

Wǒ huì yùndòng, kěshì bú shì měitiān dōu huì.

I exercise, but not every day.

2. Conversational Listening Practice

Hear phrases in a real mini-conversation.

Anna and David are chatting after work about their routines.

Anna and David chatting casually in a Taiwan café, using Traditional Chinese Taiwan Mandarin to talk about exercise, coffee, weekends, and how often things happen.

Are Anna and David talking about daily habits, occasional habits, or both?

Portrait of Anna in a Traditional Chinese lesson dialogue

Anna

你每天都運動嗎？

Nǐ měitiān dōu yùndòng ma?

Do you exercise every day?

Portrait of David in a Traditional Chinese lesson dialogue

David

不是每天都會。我大部分日子都會走路回家。

Bú shì měitiān dōu huì. Wǒ dà bùfen rìzi dōu huì zǒulù huí jiā.

Not every day. I walk home most days.

Portrait of Anna in a Traditional Chinese lesson dialogue

Anna

我每天早上都會跑步，可是我很少去健身房。

Wǒ měitiān zǎoshang dōu huì pǎobù, kěshì wǒ hěn shǎo qù jiànshēnfáng.

I run every morning, but I rarely go to the gym.

Portrait of David in a Traditional Chinese lesson dialogue

David

真的喔？我週末都會去健身房。

Zhēn de ō? Wǒ zhōumò dōu huì qù jiànshēnfáng.

Really? I go to the gym on weekends.

Portrait of Anna in a Traditional Chinese lesson dialogue

Anna

那你常常打球嗎？

Nà nǐ chángcháng dǎqiú ma?

Then do you play ball all the time?

Portrait of David in a Traditional Chinese lesson dialogue

David

沒有以前那麼常了。我偶爾會跟朋友打籃球。

Méiyǒu yǐqián nàme cháng le. Wǒ ǒu'ěr huì gēn péngyǒu dǎ lánqiú.

Not as often as before. I play basketball with friends once in a while.

3. Guided Practice

Quizzes and matching to lock in meaning.

Which phrase means “I rarely drink coffee”?

How do you ask “Do you exercise every day?”

Which answer means “Not as often as before”?

Which phrase asks “How often does this kind of thing happen?”

I read every evening.

我每天晚上睡覺前都會 ___，然後就睡覺。

I get a haircut every two weeks.

我頭髮長得很快，所以每兩個星期會 ___ 一次。

I go hiking once in a while.

週末天氣好的時候，我偶爾會 ___，在戶外走走。

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:

我很少 ___

Wǒ hěn shǎo ___.

I rarely ___.

Say this phrase out loud:

我常常___

Wǒ chángcháng ___.

I ___ all the time.

Say this phrase out loud:

這種事多久會發生一次？

Zhè zhǒng shì duōjiǔ huì fāshēng yí cì?

How often does it happen?

Say this phrase out loud:

你每天都___嗎？

Nǐ měitiān dōu ___ ma?

Do you ___ every day?

Say this phrase out loud:

我大部分日子都會___。

Wǒ dà bùfen rìzi dōu huì ___.

I ___ most days.

Say this phrase out loud:

我每天早上都會___。

Wǒ měitiān zǎoshang dōu huì ___.

I ___ every morning.

Say this phrase out loud:

我每天晚上都會___。

Wǒ měitiān wǎnshang dōu huì ___.

I ___ every evening.

Say this phrase out loud:

我週末都會___。

Wǒ zhōumò dōu huì ___.

I ___ on weekends.

Say this phrase out loud:

我偶爾會___。

Wǒ ǒu'ěr huì ___.

I ___ once in a while.

Say this phrase out loud:

我每兩個星期會___一次。

Wǒ měi liǎng ge xīngqí huì ___ yí cì.

I ___ every two weeks.

Say this phrase out loud:

沒有以前那麼常了。

Méiyǒu yǐqián nàme cháng le.

Not as often as before.

Say this phrase out loud:

不是每天都會

Bú shì měitiān dōu huì.

Not every day.