thỉnh thoảng
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Adverb: - Occasionally, now and then, from time to time: Used to describe an action or event that happens not regularly or frequently, but at irregular intervals.
Usage Examples
- Adverb:
- Thỉnh thoảng tôi gọi điện cho bố mẹ. (I call my parents occasionally.)
- Cô ấy thỉnh thoảng đến thăm thư viện. (She visits the library now and then.)
- Thỉnh thoảng chúng tôi mới đi ăn ở nhà hàng. (We only go to a restaurant from time to time.)
Advanced Usage
- Can be used at the beginning or in the middle of a sentence to modify the verb.
- Thỉnh thoảng, thành phố rất yên tĩnh vào sáng sớm. (Occasionally, the city is very quiet in the early morning.)
- Tôi thỉnh thoảng cảm thấy nhớ quê hương. (I sometimes feel homesick.)
Variants and Related Words
Đôi khi (adv): Sometimes. A close synonym with similar frequency.
- Đôi khi tôi thích ở một mình. (Sometimes I like to be alone.)
Hiếm khi (adv): Rarely. Indicates a much lower frequency than "thỉnh thoảng."
- Anh ấy hiếm khi tức giận. (He rarely gets angry.)
Synonyms
- Occasionally: Happening or occurring at irregular intervals.
- Now and then: From time to time.
- Sometimes: On some occasions but not always or often.
- Periodically: At regular intervals, though often used similarly in casual speech.
Related Idioms and Phrases
Thỉnh thoảng mới: Used to emphasize that something happens only occasionally.
- Anh ấy thỉnh thoảng mới về quê. (He only goes back to his hometown once in a while.)
Năm lần bảy lượt is an idiom meaning "repeatedly," which is the opposite concept of "thỉnh thoảng."
adv
- occasionally, now and then