Languages 1001

title: How Often? — Frequency Adverbs in Chinese: 常, 常常, and 再 description: Learn to talk about how often things happen using common Chinese adverbs of frequency and repetition. level: HSK1 language: chinese type: fill

Ever wondered how to say “often,” “sometimes,” or “again” in Chinese? Congratulations: You’re about to sound 200% more native — and 300% more like someone’s grandma (“I told you already, eat breakfast!”).

Meet today’s stars:

• 常 (cháng) — often
• 常常 (chángcháng) — often (like 常, but sometimes even “oftener” and a bit more casual!)
• 再 (zài) — again (for future repetition; you want to do something once more!)

How do you use them?
Frequency adverbs usually come before the verb. For “again” (再), use it before a verb to show you want to do it another time in the future.

Let’s peek at Lili and friends:

• 他常去饭店吃饭。(Tā cháng qù fàndiàn chīfàn.)
  He often goes to restaurants to eat.
• 她常常不吃早饭。(Tā chángcháng bù chī zǎofàn.)
  She often doesn’t eat breakfast. (Lili’s sister, Xiaotong, is NOT a morning person!)
• 今天的电影太好看了，我们明天再去看吧。(Jīntiān de diànyǐng tài hǎokàn le, wǒmen míngtiān zài qù kàn ba.)
  Today’s movie was awesome — let’s go watch it again tomorrow!

A few tips:

1. “常” and “常常” can pretty much swap places. If you want to sound even more friend-like, throw in a “常常.” (Feeling lazy? Just say “常.”)
2. “再” is for a future “again”. For things that have already happened, you'll learn “又” later at HSK2+!
3. Put these adverbs right before the main verb; don’t let them wander off — they get lost easily.

Examples from your new Chinese drama:

• 浩然常常忘记做作业。
  Haoran often forgets to do homework.
• 秀兰奶奶：你常常不吃早饭，身体会不好！
  Grandma Xiulan: If you often skip breakfast, you’ll be unhealthy!
• 志强：电影太有趣了，我们下周再来看！
  Zhiqiang: The movie was so fun, let’s come watch it again next week!

Now, ready to test your memory (and see if you also “often” forget homework, like Haoran)?

1. 张莉莉 _______ 去健身房锻炼。(Lili often goes to the gym to work out.)
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2. 建国说：“你_______ 不带钥匙，怎么办？”(Jianguo says: "You often forget to bring your keys. What can we do?")
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3. 浩然：“我们______ 一起踢足球吧？”(Haoran: "Shall we play soccer together again?" (in the future))

4. 晓彤_______ 晚上做作业。(Xiaotong often does homework at night.)
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5. 志强：这家饭店饭菜好吃，我们下个月_______ 来。(Zhiqiang: The food here is delicious, let’s come again next month.)

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