Occasionally in Different Languages
Discover 'Occasionally' in 134 Languages: Dive into Translations, Hear Pronunciations, and Uncover Cultural Insights.
Updated on March 6, 2024
The word 'occasionally' is a common term in the English language, often used to describe something that happens once in a while or not regularly. Its significance lies in its ability to convey the idea of rarity or irregularity, making it a valuable addition to our vocabulary. But did you know that the word 'occasionally' has been used in English literature since the late 15th century? That's right, this word has a rich history and cultural importance that goes back hundreds of years!
Moreover, if you're a language enthusiast or someone who enjoys learning new words in different languages, you might be interested to know that the word 'occasionally' can be translated into various languages, each with its unique nuances and cultural significance. For instance, in Spanish, 'occasionally' can be translated as 'ocasionalmente,' while in French, it is 'occasionnellement.' In German, the word 'occasionally' can be translated as 'gelegentlich,' and in Japanese, it is '時々 (tokidoki).'
So, whether you're a language learner, a culture enthusiast, or someone who simply enjoys expanding your vocabulary, understanding the translations of the word 'occasionally' in different languages can be a fun and enlightening experience!
Occasionally
Occasionally in Sub-Saharan African Languages
| Afrikaans | af en toe | ||
| The Afrikaans word "af en toe" is a calque of the Dutch phrase "af en toe" which can also mean "from time to time" | |||
| Amharic | አልፎ አልፎ | ||
| Hausa | lokaci-lokaci | ||
| The word "lokaci-lokaci" is derived from the noun "lokaci" (occasion) and the adverb "lokaci" (at times). | |||
| Igbo | mgbe ụfọdụ | ||
| The Igbo word "mgbe ụfọdụ" can also mean "from time to time" or "every once in a while." | |||
| Malagasy | indraindray | ||
| The word 'indraindray' can also mean 'at times' or 'sometimes' in Malagasy. | |||
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | mwa apo ndi apo | ||
| 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’. | |||
| Shona | pano neapo | ||
| The word "pano neapo" is derived from the Shona phrase "pano na apo," which means "here and there" or "now and then." | |||
| Somali | mar mar | ||
| The word "mar mar" is derived from an older verb stem meaning "at times". | |||
| Sesotho | nako le nako | ||
| The word "nako le nako" can also be used to refer to something that happens at a regular interval. | |||
| Swahili | mara kwa mara | ||
| "Mara kwa mara" also means "repeatedly" or "often". | |||
| Xhosa | ngamaxesha athile | ||
| The word "ngamaxesha athile" can also mean "sometimes" or "once in a while" in Xhosa. | |||
| Yoruba | lẹẹkọọkan | ||
| The word "Lẹẹkọọkan" literally means "to do one-by-one." | |||
| Zulu | ngezikhathi ezithile | ||
| The word 'ngezikhathi ezithile' contains the root word 'khathi', meaning 'time', and the prefix 'ngezi-', meaning 'at times' or 'on occasion'. | |||
| Bambara | kuma ni kuma | ||
| Ewe | ɣeaɖewoɣi | ||
| Kinyarwanda | rimwe na rimwe | ||
| Lingala | mbala mingi te | ||
| Luganda | oluusi | ||
| Sepedi | nako ye nngwe | ||
| Twi (Akan) | berɛ ano | ||
Occasionally in North African & Middle Eastern Languages
| Arabic | من حين اخر | ||
| The word "من حين اخر" literally means "from time to another" in Arabic, highlighting its intermittent nature. | |||
| Hebrew | לִפְעָמִים | ||
| The word "לִפְעָמִים" in Hebrew is an adverb meaning "sometimes", but its literal translation is "from times." | |||
| Pashto | کله ناکله | ||
| The Pashto word "کله ناکله" does not mean "occasionally"; It means "completely". | |||
| Arabic | من حين اخر | ||
| The word "من حين اخر" literally means "from time to another" in Arabic, highlighting its intermittent nature. | |||
Occasionally in Western European Languages
| Albanian | herë pas here | ||
| The word "herë pas here" literally translates to "time after time" and is used to express the idea of "occasionally". | |||
| Basque | noizean behin | ||
| The Basque word "noizean behin" literally means "a few times" or "sometimes" | |||
| Catalan | de tant en tant | ||
| Croatian | povremeno | ||
| "Povremeno" is derived from the Proto-Slavic "*povremene", meaning "periodically". | |||
| Danish | en gang imellem | ||
| "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 | ||
| "Af en toe" literally means "off and onto". | |||
| English | occasionally | ||
| The word “occasionally” comes from the French word “occasion,” meaning “opportunity” or “event.” | |||
| French | parfois | ||
| 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 | ||
| '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 | de cando en vez | ||
| The Galician adverbial phrase "de cando en vez" literally means "from when to when" and is related to the noun "vez" (time). | |||
| German | gelegentlich | ||
| The word "gelegentlich" literally means "timely" in German, originating from the Middle High German word "gêlec", meaning "a favorable time". | |||
| Icelandic | stöku sinnum | ||
| The word "stöku sinnum" is derived from the Old Norse phrase "stundom sinnum" and means "sometimes" or "on occasion." | |||
| Irish | ó am go chéile | ||
| "Ó am go chéile" is a phrase that literally means "from time to time" and is used to express the idea of "occasionally". | |||
| Italian | di tanto in tanto | ||
| 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. | |||
| Luxembourgish | heiansdo | ||
| The word 'heiansdo' is derived from the German word 'hin und wieder', which means 'now and then'. | |||
| Maltese | kultant | ||
| 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. | |||
| Norwegian | av og til | ||
| "Av og til" literally translates to "off and at times" or "on and off" in English. | |||
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | ocasionalmente | ||
| 'Ocasional' is the portuguese term for 'occasional', but also carries the meanings 'random' and 'rare'. | |||
| Scots Gaelic | corra uair | ||
| 'Corra uair' literally translates as 'odd' or 'queer time' in English. | |||
| Spanish | de vez en cuando | ||
| De vez en cuando literally means 'from time to time' and can also mean 'rarely' or 'sometimes'. | |||
| Swedish | ibland | ||
| Ibland is derived from the Old Swedish phrase 'i bland' ('in a mixture' or 'among'), referring to something that happens now and then | |||
| Welsh | yn achlysurol | ||
| 'Achlys' is Greek for darkness/mist, whereas '-urol' is a Welsh plural suffix. | |||
Occasionally in Eastern European Languages
| Belarusian | зрэдку | ||
| The Belarusian word "зрэдку" derives from the word "редко" which has the same meaning in Russian and both are ultimately of Proto-Slavic origin. | |||
| Bosnian | povremeno | ||
| The word 'povremeno' is derived from the Proto-Slavic adjective *vьrьchьnъ, meaning 'the highest point', 'the top' or 'the peak'. | |||
| Bulgarian | от време на време | ||
| The word "from time to time" can also mean "from this time to that time". | |||
| Czech | občas | ||
| The word "občas" is derived from the Czech word "čas" (time). | |||
| Estonian | aeg-ajalt | ||
| 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 | toisinaan | ||
| The word "toisinaan" is a compound word formed from the words "toinen" (second) and "aika" (time) and originally meant "every other time". | |||
| Hungarian | néha | ||
| The Hungarian word "néha" originated from the Proto-Hungarian "néhán", which meant "a few". | |||
| Latvian | laiku pa laikam | ||
| "Laiku pa laikam" is a Latvian phrase which literally means "time from time". | |||
| Lithuanian | retkarčiais | ||
| The word "retkarčiais" is derived from "retkar", which means "once in a while" or "from time to time." | |||
| Macedonian | повремено | ||
| The Macedonian word "повремено" comes from the Proto-Slavic root "*vremę" meaning "time". | |||
| Polish | sporadycznie | ||
| The word "sporadycznie" is derived from the Greek word "sporadicos", meaning "scattered" or "occurring at irregular intervals. | |||
| Romanian | ocazional | ||
| Romanian "ocazional" comes from French "occasionnel", which is in turn formed by the suffix "-el" added to "occasion", coming from Latin "occasiō" | |||
| Russian | время от времени | ||
| The phrase "время от времени" literally translates to "time from time," emphasizing the intermittent nature of occurrences. | |||
| Serbian | повремено | ||
| The word "повремено" comes from the word "время" meaning "time", and means "at times" or "from time to time". | |||
| Slovak | príležitostne | ||
| The Slovak word "príležitostne" comes from the Czech word "příležitost" (opportunity). | |||
| Slovenian | občasno | ||
| "Občasno" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "ob-časi", which means "sometimes" or "at times". | |||
| Ukrainian | зрідка | ||
| The origin of the Ukrainian word “зрідка” is unclear, but some linguists suggest it may have evolved from an older Slavic word meaning “rarely.” | |||
Occasionally in South Asian Languages
| Bengali | মাঝে মাঝে | ||
| The word "মাঝে মাঝে" can also mean "sometimes" or "now and then". | |||
| Gujarati | ક્યારેક ક્યારેક | ||
| Hindi | कभी कभी | ||
| "कभी कभी" means "sometimes" in Hindi, but it can also mean "now and then" or "on and off." | |||
| Kannada | ಸಾಂದರ್ಭಿಕವಾಗಿ | ||
| Malayalam | ഇടയ്ക്കിടെ | ||
| The word "intermittently" derives from the Latin word "intermittere", meaning to interrupt or break off. | |||
| Marathi | कधीकधी | ||
| The word "कधीकधी" is derived from the Sanskrit word "कदाचित्", meaning "sometimes" or "now and then". | |||
| Nepali | कहिलेकाँही | ||
| The word “कहिलेकाँही” in Nepali is derived from the Sanskrit word “कदाचित्” which also means “occasionally.” | |||
| Punjabi | ਕਦੇ ਕਦੇ | ||
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | ඉඳහිට | ||
| 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". | |||
| Tamil | எப்போதாவது | ||
| Telugu | అప్పుడప్పుడు | ||
| The word "అప్పుడప్పుడు" can also be used to describe an event that happens once in a while or that is repeated only rarely. | |||
| Urdu | کبھی کبھار | ||
| In Arabic, occasionally means "sometimes", but in Farsi it means "often". | |||
Occasionally in East Asian Languages
| Chinese (Simplified) | 偶尔 | ||
| 「偶尔」的本义为「间或」，引申指「有时」或「偶然」 | |||
| Chinese (Traditional) | 偶爾 | ||
| 偶爾亦可指偶數，如偶爾會下大雨。 | |||
| Japanese | たまに | ||
| The word "たまに" (occasionally) also means "every now and then" or "from time to time". | |||
| Korean | 때때로 | ||
| The word "때때로" is derived from the Korean word "때" (time) and the suffix "로" (manner), indicating "in a timely manner" or "at times". | |||
| Mongolian | хааяа | ||
| The word "хааяа" also means "sometimes" or "once in a while." | |||
| Myanmar (Burmese) | ရံဖန်ရံခါ | ||
Occasionally in South East Asian Languages
| Indonesian | kadang | ||
| "Kadang" also means "sometimes" or "at times". | |||
| Javanese | sok-sok | ||
| The Javanese word "sok-sok" is a reduplication of the word "sok", which means "occasional" or "sporadic". | |||
| Khmer | ម្តងម្កាល | ||
| The word "ម្តងម្កាល" can also mean "sometimes", "once in a while", or "on rare occasions." | |||
| Lao | ບາງຄັ້ງຄາວ | ||
| Malay | sekali sekala | ||
| The origin of the phrase "sekali sekala" is traced to an Arabic phrase which means "every day, daily" that entered into Malaysian colloquial Malay. | |||
| Thai | เป็นครั้งคราว | ||
| In Thai "เป็นครั้งคราว" literally translates as "to be a time-piece." | |||
| Vietnamese | thỉnh thoảng | ||
| The Sino-Vietnamese word "thỉnh thoảng" literally means "asking time to time". | |||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | paminsan-minsan | ||
Occasionally in Central Asian Languages
| Azerbaijani | bəzən | ||
| "Bəzən" derives from Middle Persian "wāz","time" and comes from the same root as English "season." | |||
| Kazakh | кейде | ||
| 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. | |||
| Kyrgyz | кээде | ||
| The word "кээде" in Kyrgyz is derived from the root "кээ-," which also means "sometimes" or "once in a while." | |||
| Tajik | баъзан | ||
| The word "баъзан" is derived from the Persian word "bazdam" meaning "sometimes". | |||
| Turkmen | wagtal-wagtal | ||
| Uzbek | vaqti-vaqti bilan | ||
| "Vaqti-vaqti bilan" is a compound word meaning "from time to time", "occasionally" or "periodically". | |||
| Uyghur | ئاندا-ساندا | ||
Occasionally in Pacific Languages
| Hawaiian | i kekahi manawa | ||
| "I kekahi manawa" can also be used to describe "once" or "every now and then". | |||
| Maori | i etahi waa | ||
| 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'. | |||
| Samoan | mai lea taimi i lea taimi | ||
| In Samoan, "mai lea taimi i lea taimi" also means "sometimes" or "from time to time". | |||
| Tagalog (Filipino) | paminsan-minsan | ||
| "Paminsan-minsan" comes from the root words "pan" (time) and "minsang" (once), suggesting "occurring from time to time." | |||
Occasionally in American Indigenous Languages
| Aymara | akatjamata | ||
| Guarani | sapy'ánteva | ||
Occasionally in International Languages
| Esperanto | de tempo al tempo | ||
| "De tempo al tempo" literally means "from time to time" or "occasionally" in Esperanto. | |||
| Latin | occasionally | ||
| The Latin word "occasionalis" originally meant "accidental" or "chance happening". | |||
Occasionally in Others Languages
| Greek | ενίοτε | ||
| The word "ενίοτε" derives from the Ancient Greek word "ένιος," meaning "single" or "one at a time." | |||
| Hmong | puav puav | ||
| Puav puav is often used to express the duration of an action occurring at random and unpredictable intervals. | |||
| Kurdish | caran | ||
| The word "caran" can also mean "sometimes" or "once in a while" in Kurdish. | |||
| Turkish | bazen | ||
| The word "bazen" may also refer to the Turkish suffix "-baz" that means "sometimes, once" and comes from the Persian "bāzen" meaning "sometimes, once". | |||
| Xhosa | ngamaxesha athile | ||
| The word "ngamaxesha athile" can also mean "sometimes" or "once in a while" in Xhosa. | |||
| Yiddish | טייל מאָל | ||
| טייל מאָל translates literally from the German 'theil mahl,' or 'at times' and refers to an occasional event. | |||
| Zulu | ngezikhathi ezithile | ||
| The word 'ngezikhathi ezithile' contains the root word 'khathi', meaning 'time', and the prefix 'ngezi-', meaning 'at times' or 'on occasion'. | |||
| Assamese | কেতিয়াবা | ||
| Aymara | akatjamata | ||
| Bhojpuri | कबो-काल्ह | ||
| Dhivehi | ބައެއް ފަހަރު | ||
| Dogri | कदें-कदालें | ||
| Filipino (Tagalog) | paminsan-minsan | ||
| Guarani | sapy'ánteva | ||
| Ilocano | sagpaminsan | ||
| Krio | wan wan tɛm | ||
| Kurdish (Sorani) | بەڕێکەوت | ||
| Maithili | कहियो कहियो | ||
| Meiteilon (Manipuri) | ꯃꯔꯛ ꯃꯔꯛꯇ | ||
| Mizo | a chang changin | ||
| Oromo | yeroo tokko tokko | ||
| Odia (Oriya) | ବେଳେବେଳେ | ||
| Quechua | yaqa sapa kuti | ||
| Sanskrit | कादाचित् | ||
| Tatar | вакыт-вакыт | ||
| Tigrinya | ሕልፍ ሕልፍ ኢሉ | ||
| Tsonga | nkarhinyana | ||