Afrikaans af en toe | ||
Albanian herë pas here | ||
Amharic አልፎ አልፎ | ||
Arabic من حين اخر | ||
Armenian երբեմն | ||
Assamese কেতিয়াবা | ||
Aymara akatjamata | ||
Azerbaijani bəzən | ||
Bambara kuma ni kuma | ||
Basque noizean behin | ||
Belarusian зрэдку | ||
Bengali মাঝে মাঝে | ||
Bhojpuri कबो-काल्ह | ||
Bosnian povremeno | ||
Bulgarian от време на време | ||
Catalan de tant en tant | ||
Cebuano usahay | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 偶尔 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 偶爾 | ||
Corsican ogni tantu | ||
Croatian povremeno | ||
Czech občas | ||
Danish en gang imellem | ||
Dhivehi ބައެއް ފަހަރު | ||
Dogri कदें-कदालें | ||
Dutch af en toe | ||
English occasionally | ||
Esperanto de tempo al tempo | ||
Estonian aeg-ajalt | ||
Ewe ɣeaɖewoɣi | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) paminsan-minsan | ||
Finnish toisinaan | ||
French parfois | ||
Frisian ynsidinteel | ||
Galician de cando en vez | ||
Georgian ზოგჯერ | ||
German gelegentlich | ||
Greek ενίοτε | ||
Guarani sapy'ánteva | ||
Gujarati ક્યારેક ક્યારેક | ||
Haitian Creole detanzantan | ||
Hausa lokaci-lokaci | ||
Hawaiian i kekahi manawa | ||
Hebrew לִפְעָמִים | ||
Hindi कभी कभी | ||
Hmong puav puav | ||
Hungarian néha | ||
Icelandic stöku sinnum | ||
Igbo mgbe ụfọdụ | ||
Ilocano sagpaminsan | ||
Indonesian kadang | ||
Irish ó am go chéile | ||
Italian di tanto in tanto | ||
Japanese たまに | ||
Javanese sok-sok | ||
Kannada ಸಾಂದರ್ಭಿಕವಾಗಿ | ||
Kazakh кейде | ||
Khmer ម្តងម្កាល | ||
Kinyarwanda rimwe na rimwe | ||
Konkani केन्नाकेन्नाय | ||
Korean 때때로 | ||
Krio wan wan tɛm | ||
Kurdish caran | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) بەڕێکەوت | ||
Kyrgyz кээде | ||
Lao ບາງຄັ້ງຄາວ | ||
Latin occasionally | ||
Latvian laiku pa laikam | ||
Lingala mbala mingi te | ||
Lithuanian retkarčiais | ||
Luganda oluusi | ||
Luxembourgish heiansdo | ||
Macedonian повремено | ||
Maithili कहियो कहियो | ||
Malagasy indraindray | ||
Malay sekali sekala | ||
Malayalam ഇടയ്ക്കിടെ | ||
Maltese kultant | ||
Maori i etahi waa | ||
Marathi कधीकधी | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯃꯔꯛ ꯃꯔꯛꯇ | ||
Mizo a chang changin | ||
Mongolian хааяа | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) ရံဖန်ရံခါ | ||
Nepali कहिलेकाँही | ||
Norwegian av og til | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) mwa apo ndi apo | ||
Odia (Oriya) ବେଳେବେଳେ | ||
Oromo yeroo tokko tokko | ||
Pashto کله ناکله | ||
Persian گاه و بیگاه | ||
Polish sporadycznie | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) ocasionalmente | ||
Punjabi ਕਦੇ ਕਦੇ | ||
Quechua yaqa sapa kuti | ||
Romanian ocazional | ||
Russian время от времени | ||
Samoan mai lea taimi i lea taimi | ||
Sanskrit कादाचित् | ||
Scots Gaelic corra uair | ||
Sepedi nako ye nngwe | ||
Serbian повремено | ||
Sesotho nako le nako | ||
Shona pano neapo | ||
Sindhi ڪڏهن ڪڏهن | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) ඉඳහිට | ||
Slovak príležitostne | ||
Slovenian občasno | ||
Somali mar mar | ||
Spanish de vez en cuando | ||
Sundanese aya kalana | ||
Swahili mara kwa mara | ||
Swedish ibland | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) paminsan-minsan | ||
Tajik баъзан | ||
Tamil எப்போதாவது | ||
Tatar вакыт-вакыт | ||
Telugu అప్పుడప్పుడు | ||
Thai เป็นครั้งคราว | ||
Tigrinya ሕልፍ ሕልፍ ኢሉ | ||
Tsonga nkarhinyana | ||
Turkish bazen | ||
Turkmen wagtal-wagtal | ||
Twi (Akan) berɛ ano | ||
Ukrainian зрідка | ||
Urdu کبھی کبھار | ||
Uyghur ئاندا-ساندا | ||
Uzbek vaqti-vaqti bilan | ||
Vietnamese thỉnh thoảng | ||
Welsh yn achlysurol | ||
Xhosa ngamaxesha athile | ||
Yiddish טייל מאָל | ||
Yoruba lẹẹkọọkan | ||
Zulu ngezikhathi ezithile |
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The Afrikaans word "af en toe" is a calque of the Dutch phrase "af en toe" which can also mean "from time to time" |
| Albanian | The word "herë pas here" literally translates to "time after time" and is used to express the idea of "occasionally". |
| Arabic | The word "من حين اخر" literally means "from time to another" in Arabic, highlighting its intermittent nature. |
| Armenian | The word երբեմն originally meant "for some time" and was used in the sense of "sometimes" only from the 18th century onwards. |
| Azerbaijani | "Bəzən" derives from Middle Persian "wāz","time" and comes from the same root as English "season." |
| Basque | The Basque word "noizean behin" literally means "a few times" or "sometimes" |
| Belarusian | The Belarusian word "зрэдку" derives from the word "редко" which has the same meaning in Russian and both are ultimately of Proto-Slavic origin. |
| Bengali | The word "মাঝে মাঝে" can also mean "sometimes" or "now and then". |
| Bosnian | The word 'povremeno' is derived from the Proto-Slavic adjective *vьrьchьnъ, meaning 'the highest point', 'the top' or 'the peak'. |
| Bulgarian | The word "from time to time" can also mean "from this time to that time". |
| Cebuano | "Usahay" originally comes from the Spanish word "usar" which means "to use". This suggests that the concept of "occasionally" or "sometimes" in Cebuano was once linked to the notion of "using" or "doing" something on a limited or intermittent basis. |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 「偶尔」的本义为「间或」,引申指「有时」或「偶然」 |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 偶爾亦可指偶數,如偶爾會下大雨。 |
| Corsican | "Ogni tantu" derives from the Latin "omni tanto" which means "after so much time" |
| Croatian | "Povremeno" is derived from the Proto-Slavic "*povremene", meaning "periodically". |
| Czech | The word "občas" is derived from the Czech word "čas" (time). |
| Danish | "A good day to you too, my old friend. What brings you by my humble abode?" In Danish, a literal translation would be "En gang imellem". "En" means "one". "Gang" means "time". "Imellem" means "between." When you put it all together, "en gang imellem" can mean "once in a while," "occasionally," or "here and there." |
| Dutch | "Af en toe" literally means "off and onto". |
| Esperanto | "De tempo al tempo" literally means "from time to time" or "occasionally" in Esperanto. |
| Estonian | The word "aeg-ajalt" is derived from the Estonian words "aeg" (time) and "ajalt" (from time to time), and thus literally means "from time to time". |
| Finnish | The word "toisinaan" is a compound word formed from the words "toinen" (second) and "aika" (time) and originally meant "every other time". |
| French | The word "parfois" originates from the Latin word "pars" which means "part". It also shares an etymological root with the English word "partial". |
| Frisian | 'Ynsidinteel' is a loan word from Dutch that comes from the verb 'inzichzelven' which means 'to concentrate' and is mostly applied in the sense 'to think' and thereby derives its meaning 'thought through' and 'occasionally' from. |
| Galician | The Galician adverbial phrase "de cando en vez" literally means "from when to when" and is related to the noun "vez" (time). |
| German | The word "gelegentlich" literally means "timely" in German, originating from the Middle High German word "gêlec", meaning "a favorable time". |
| Greek | The word "ενίοτε" derives from the Ancient Greek word "ένιος," meaning "single" or "one at a time." |
| Haitian Creole | The Haitian Creole word "detanzantan" ultimately derives from the French phrase "de temps en temps" (from time to time). |
| Hausa | The word "lokaci-lokaci" is derived from the noun "lokaci" (occasion) and the adverb "lokaci" (at times). |
| Hawaiian | "I kekahi manawa" can also be used to describe "once" or "every now and then". |
| Hebrew | The word "לִפְעָמִים" in Hebrew is an adverb meaning "sometimes", but its literal translation is "from times." |
| Hindi | "कभी कभी" means "sometimes" in Hindi, but it can also mean "now and then" or "on and off." |
| Hmong | Puav puav is often used to express the duration of an action occurring at random and unpredictable intervals. |
| Hungarian | The Hungarian word "néha" originated from the Proto-Hungarian "néhán", which meant "a few". |
| Icelandic | The word "stöku sinnum" is derived from the Old Norse phrase "stundom sinnum" and means "sometimes" or "on occasion." |
| Igbo | The Igbo word "mgbe ụfọdụ" can also mean "from time to time" or "every once in a while." |
| Indonesian | "Kadang" also means "sometimes" or "at times". |
| Irish | "Ó am go chéile" is a phrase that literally means "from time to time" and is used to express the idea of "occasionally". |
| Italian | The idiomatic phrase "di tanto in tanto" in Italian means "occasionally" or "every now and then", and its origin derives from Latin "de tantum in tantum," which was used to express repetitive actions that occurred at varying but regular intervals. |
| Japanese | The word "たまに" (occasionally) also means "every now and then" or "from time to time". |
| Javanese | The Javanese word "sok-sok" is a reduplication of the word "sok", which means "occasional" or "sporadic". |
| Kazakh | The word "кейде" is derived from the Kazakh word "кей", meaning "time", and is often used in proverbs and idioms related to timing and opportunity. |
| Khmer | The word "ម្តងម្កាល" can also mean "sometimes", "once in a while", or "on rare occasions." |
| Korean | The word "때때로" is derived from the Korean word "때" (time) and the suffix "로" (manner), indicating "in a timely manner" or "at times". |
| Kurdish | The word "caran" can also mean "sometimes" or "once in a while" in Kurdish. |
| Kyrgyz | The word "кээде" in Kyrgyz is derived from the root "кээ-," which also means "sometimes" or "once in a while." |
| Latin | The Latin word "occasionalis" originally meant "accidental" or "chance happening". |
| Latvian | "Laiku pa laikam" is a Latvian phrase which literally means "time from time". |
| Lithuanian | The word "retkarčiais" is derived from "retkar", which means "once in a while" or "from time to time." |
| Luxembourgish | The word 'heiansdo' is derived from the German word 'hin und wieder', which means 'now and then'. |
| Macedonian | The Macedonian word "повремено" comes from the Proto-Slavic root "*vremę" meaning "time". |
| Malagasy | The word 'indraindray' can also mean 'at times' or 'sometimes' in Malagasy. |
| Malay | The origin of the phrase "sekali sekala" is traced to an Arabic phrase which means "every day, daily" that entered into Malaysian colloquial Malay. |
| Malayalam | The word "intermittently" derives from the Latin word "intermittere", meaning to interrupt or break off. |
| Maltese | The word "kultant" in Maltese likely originates from the Latin word "cultus" meaning "worship" or "devotion" and has since taken on the meaning of "occasionally" in Maltese. |
| Maori | The term 'i etahi waa' comes from the Maori words 'i etahi' (sometimes) and 'waa' (time), and can also refer to the concept of 'periodically' or 'from time to time'. |
| Marathi | The word "कधीकधी" is derived from the Sanskrit word "कदाचित्", meaning "sometimes" or "now and then". |
| Mongolian | The word "хааяа" also means "sometimes" or "once in a while." |
| Nepali | The word “कहिलेकाँही” in Nepali is derived from the Sanskrit word “कदाचित्” which also means “occasionally.” |
| Norwegian | "Av og til" literally translates to "off and at times" or "on and off" in English. |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The Nyanja phrase “mwa apo ndi apo” means ‘occasionally’ and it is a play on the phrase “apo ndi apo” which means ‘here and there’ or ‘scattered about’. |
| Pashto | The Pashto word "کله ناکله" does not mean "occasionally"; It means "completely". |
| Persian | "گاه و بیگاه" derives from two unrelated Persian roots meaning "sometimes" and "rarely" that combine to emphasize the irregularity of the event. |
| Polish | The word "sporadycznie" is derived from the Greek word "sporadicos", meaning "scattered" or "occurring at irregular intervals. |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | 'Ocasional' is the portuguese term for 'occasional', but also carries the meanings 'random' and 'rare'. |
| Romanian | Romanian "ocazional" comes from French "occasionnel", which is in turn formed by the suffix "-el" added to "occasion", coming from Latin "occasiō" |
| Russian | The phrase "время от времени" literally translates to "time from time," emphasizing the intermittent nature of occurrences. |
| Samoan | In Samoan, "mai lea taimi i lea taimi" also means "sometimes" or "from time to time". |
| Scots Gaelic | 'Corra uair' literally translates as 'odd' or 'queer time' in English. |
| Serbian | The word "повремено" comes from the word "время" meaning "time", and means "at times" or "from time to time". |
| Sesotho | The word "nako le nako" can also be used to refer to something that happens at a regular interval. |
| Shona | The word "pano neapo" is derived from the Shona phrase "pano na apo," which means "here and there" or "now and then." |
| Sindhi | The word "ڪڏهن ڪڏهن" (occasionally) can also be used to mean "sometime" or "one of several times." |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The word "ඉඳහිට" derives from the Sanskrit word "इदा" meaning "now" and the Sinhala word "හිට" meaning "situation". It can also mean "in the present" or "at the moment". |
| Slovak | The Slovak word "príležitostne" comes from the Czech word "příležitost" (opportunity). |
| Slovenian | "Občasno" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "ob-časi", which means "sometimes" or "at times". |
| Somali | The word "mar mar" is derived from an older verb stem meaning "at times". |
| Spanish | De vez en cuando literally means 'from time to time' and can also mean 'rarely' or 'sometimes'. |
| Sundanese | The Sundanese word "aya kalana" is also used in the context of uncertainty and indecisiveness. |
| Swahili | "Mara kwa mara" also means "repeatedly" or "often". |
| Swedish | Ibland is derived from the Old Swedish phrase 'i bland' ('in a mixture' or 'among'), referring to something that happens now and then |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | "Paminsan-minsan" comes from the root words "pan" (time) and "minsang" (once), suggesting "occurring from time to time." |
| Tajik | The word "баъзан" is derived from the Persian word "bazdam" meaning "sometimes". |
| Telugu | The word "అప్పుడప్పుడు" can also be used to describe an event that happens once in a while or that is repeated only rarely. |
| Thai | In Thai "เป็นครั้งคราว" literally translates as "to be a time-piece." |
| Turkish | The word "bazen" may also refer to the Turkish suffix "-baz" that means "sometimes, once" and comes from the Persian "bāzen" meaning "sometimes, once". |
| Ukrainian | The origin of the Ukrainian word “зрідка” is unclear, but some linguists suggest it may have evolved from an older Slavic word meaning “rarely.” |
| Urdu | In Arabic, occasionally means "sometimes", but in Farsi it means "often". |
| Uzbek | "Vaqti-vaqti bilan" is a compound word meaning "from time to time", "occasionally" or "periodically". |
| Vietnamese | The Sino-Vietnamese word "thỉnh thoảng" literally means "asking time to time". |
| Welsh | 'Achlys' is Greek for darkness/mist, whereas '-urol' is a Welsh plural suffix. |
| Xhosa | The word "ngamaxesha athile" can also mean "sometimes" or "once in a while" in Xhosa. |
| Yiddish | טייל מאָל translates literally from the German 'theil mahl,' or 'at times' and refers to an occasional event. |
| Yoruba | The word "Lẹẹkọọkan" literally means "to do one-by-one." |
| Zulu | The word 'ngezikhathi ezithile' contains the root word 'khathi', meaning 'time', and the prefix 'ngezi-', meaning 'at times' or 'on occasion'. |
| English | The word “occasionally” comes from the French word “occasion,” meaning “opportunity” or “event.” |