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Expressing "how often"
======================
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[Expressing
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[每](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/%E6%AF%8F),
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[how
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[times](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Times)
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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)
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---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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