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<div id="t-specialpages"> </div> [Special pages](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Special:SpecialPages) - <div id="t-print"> </div> [Printable version](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/gramwiki/?title=Expressing_%22how_often%22&printable=yes) - <div id="t-permalink"> </div> [Permanent link](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/gramwiki/?title=Expressing_%22how_often%22&oldid=42253) - <div id="t-info"> </div> [Page information](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/gramwiki/?title=Expressing_%22how_often%22&action=info) <div id="gg-mid" class="gg"> [](http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1286538933) </div> </div> <div class="span10"> <div id="innerbodycontent" class="row nolayout"> <div class="offset1 span10"> <div id="sm-cog-elements" class="noprint"> </div> <div class="allset-page-heading"> [](# "wikilink") <div id="settings-menu" class="dropdown dropdown-anchor-right noprint"> - === Sample Sentence Options === - Spaces - Hide spaces between Chinese words - Pinyin - Hide pinyin - Translations - Hide translations </div> Expressing "how often" ====================== </div> <div id="contentSub"> </div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-content-ltr" dir="ltr" lang="en"> <div id="ibox" class="toc"> <div class="ibox-link"> <span class="plainlinks">[](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/ASGCED31)</span> </div> - <div class="ibox-label"> Level </div> <div class="ibox-info"> [B1](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/B1_grammar_points) </div> - <div class="ibox-label"> Similar to </div> <div class="ibox-info"> </div> - <div class="ibox-label"> Used for </div> <div class="ibox-info"> [Expressing frequency](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_frequency) </div> - <div class="ibox-label"> Keywords </div> <div class="ibox-info"> [每](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/%E6%AF%8F), [多长时间](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/%E5%A4%9A%E9%95%BF%E6%97%B6%E9%97%B4) </div> - <div class="ibox-label"> Translations </div> <div class="ibox-info"> [how often](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/How_often), [times](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Times) </div> <div class="ibox-image"> [{width="300" height="300"}](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/File:Chinese-grammar-wiki-mei2.jpg) </div> </div> Asking "how often" is one of those things that seems so simple in English, but relatively complicated in Chinese. The way to ask in Chinese is, literally, "how long of a time" (do something) "one time." So you'll need the phrases 多长时间 (duō cháng shíjiān) and 一次 (yī cì). <div id="toc" class="toc"> <div id="toctitle"> Contents -------- <span class="toctoggle"> [hide]([# "wikilink")\] </span> </div> - [<span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">Asking about Frequency</span>](#Asking_about_Frequency "wikilink") - [<span class="tocnumber">1.1</span> <span class="toctext">Structure</span>](#Structure "wikilink") - [<span class="tocnumber">1.2</span> <span class="toctext">Examples</span>](#Examples "wikilink") - [<span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">Talking about Frequency in General</span>](#Talking_about_Frequency_in_General "wikilink") - [<span class="tocnumber">2.1</span> <span class="toctext">Structure</span>](#Structure_2 "wikilink") - [<span class="tocnumber">2.2</span> <span class="toctext">Examples</span>](#Examples_2 "wikilink") - [<span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">When NOT to use this pattern</span>](#When_NOT_to_use_this_pattern "wikilink") - [<span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">See also</span>](#See_also "wikilink") - [<span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">Sources and further reading</span>](#Sources_and_further_reading "wikilink") - [<span class="tocnumber">5.1</span> <span class="toctext">Books</span>](#Books "wikilink") </div> <span id="Asking_about_Frequency" class="mw-headline">Asking about Frequency</span> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ### <span id="Structure" class="mw-headline">Structure</span> <div class="jiegou"> Subj. + 多长时间 + Verb + 一次 (+ Obj.) </div> ### <span id="Examples" class="mw-headline">Examples</span> <div class="liju"> - 你 的 手机 *多 长 时间* 充电 *一 次* ?<span class="pinyin">Nǐ de shǒujī *duō cháng shíjiān* chōngdiàn *yī cì*?</span> - 你 的 手机 *多 长 时间* 充 *一 次* 电 ?<span class="pinyin">Nǐ de shǒujī *duō cháng shíjiān* chōng *yī cì* diàn?</span><span class="trans">How often do you charge your phone?</span> <!-- --> - 你 *多 长 时间* 剪 头发 *一 次* ?<span class="pinyin">Nǐ *duō cháng shíjiān* jiǎn tóufa *yī cì*?</span> - 你 *多 长 时间* 剪 *一 次* 头发 ?<span class="pinyin">Nǐ *duō cháng shíjiān* jiǎn *yī cì* tóufa?</span><span class="trans">How often do you cut your hair?</span> <!-- --> - 你 *多 长 时间* 刮 胡子 *一 次* ?<span class="pinyin">Nǐ *duō cháng shíjiān* guā húzi *yī cì*?</span> - 你 *多 长 时间* 刮 *一 次* 胡子 ?<span class="pinyin">Nǐ *duō cháng shíjiān* guā *yī cì* húzi?</span><span class="trans">How often do you shave?</span> </div> <span id="Talking_about_Frequency_in_General" class="mw-headline">Talking about Frequency in General</span> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ### <span id="Structure_2" class="mw-headline">Structure</span> <div class="jiegou"> Subj. + \[Length of Time\] + Verb + Times (+ Obj.) </div> ### <span id="Examples_2" class="mw-headline">Examples</span> <div class="liju"> - 我 *一 周* 给 妈妈 打 *两 次* 电话 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ *yī zhōu* gěi māma dǎ *liǎng cì* diànhuà.</span><span class="trans">I give mom a call twice a week.</span> - 我们 公司 *一 周* 开 *一 次* 会 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒmen gōngsī *yī zhōu* kāi *yī cì* huì.</span><span class="trans">Our company holds one meeting per week.</span> - 我 *两 个 月* 剪 *一 次* 头发 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ *liǎng gè yuè* jiǎn *yī cì* tóufa.</span><span class="trans">I cut my hair every two months.</span> - 我 的 手机 *两 天* 充 *一 次* 电 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ de shǒujī *liǎng tiān* chōng *yī cì* diàn.</span><span class="trans">I charge my phone every two days.</span> - 这 种 药 *四 个 小时* 吃 *一 次* 。<span class="pinyin">Zhè zhǒng yào *sì gè xiǎoshí* chī *yī cì*.</span><span class="trans">Take this medicine every four hours.</span> - 你 应该 *半 年* 做 *一 次* 体检 。<span class="pinyin">Nǐ yīnggāi *bàn nián* zuò *yī cì* tǐjiǎn.</span><span class="trans">You should have a physical examination every half of a year.</span> </div> <span id="When_NOT_to_use_this_pattern" class="mw-headline">When NOT to use this pattern</span> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The thing about using the pattern above is that it's expected that the activity is done *regularly*, as part of a *habit*. If it's not an activity that's regularly engaged in, it's weird to use the pattern. Consider the following examples: <div class="liju"> - 你 *多 长 时间* 换 *一 个* 手机 ?<span class="pinyin">Nǐ *duō cháng shíjiān* huàn *yī gè* shǒujī?</span><span class="trans">How often do you buy a new cell phone?</span> - 你 *多 长 时间* 加 *一 次* 班 ?<span class="pinyin">Nǐ *duō cháng shíjiān* jiā *yī cì* bān?</span><span class="trans">How often do you work overtime?</span> - 你 *多 长 时间* 吃 *一 次* 牛油果 ?<span class="pinyin">Nǐ *duō cháng shíjiān* chī *yī cì* niúyóuguǒ?</span><span class="trans">How often do you eat avocado?</span> </div> In these cases, the speaker is trying to get any idea of how often the other person does something, regardless of how regular or habitual it is. In this case, just use 经常 (or similar) to ask about it. <div class="liju"> - 你 **经常** 换 手机 吗 ?<span class="pinyin">Nǐ *jīngcháng* huàn shǒujī ma?</span><span class="trans">Do you often buy a new cell phone?</span> - 你 **经常** 加班 吗 ?<span class="pinyin">Nǐ *jīngcháng* jiābān ma?</span><span class="trans">Do you often work late?</span> - 你 **很 少** 吃 牛油果 吧 ?<span class="pinyin">Nǐ *hěnshǎo* chī niúyóuguǒ ba?</span><span class="trans">You rarely eat avocado, right?</span> </div> <span id="See_also" class="mw-headline">See also</span> ------------------------------------------------------- - [Pronoun "mei" for "every"](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Pronoun_%22mei%22_for_%22every%22) - [Expressing "every time" with "mei" and "dou"](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_%22every_time%22_with_%22mei%22_and_%22dou%22) <span id="Sources_and_further_reading" class="mw-headline">Sources and further reading</span> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ### <span id="Books" class="mw-headline">Books</span> <div style="display:none;"> </div> <div style="display:none;"> </div> <div style="display:none;"> </div> <div style="display:none;"> </div> <div style="display:none;"> </div> <div style="display:none;"> </div> </div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks"> <div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"> [Category](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Special:Categories): - [B1 grammar points](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Category:B1_grammar_points) </div> </div> <div id="gg-bot" class="gg"> [](http://amzn.to/2iioVRP) </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<https://resources.allsetlearning.com/gramwiki/?title=Expressing_%22how_often%22&oldid=42253%22> </div> <div class="visualClear"> </div> </div> </div> <div id="footer" class="footer container custom-footer"> <div class="row-fluid"> <div class="span2"> </div> <div class="span10"> 不允许任何以商业为目的或不注明归属 Chinese Grammar Wiki ©2011-2018 AllSet Learning 的内容引用。关于合法使用此内容的更多信息,请参阅我们的[知识共享权限条款(Creative Commons license)](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Chinese%20Grammar%20Wiki:Copyrights)。 All content on the Chinese Grammar Wiki ©2011-2018 AllSet Learning, and may not be used for commercial purposes or without attribution. 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