What does “tokidoki” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “tokidoki” to mean ‘sometimes’ in Japanese. Very simple, I think. In this blog post, however, I will explain this word in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand “tokidoki” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meanings of “tokidoki”
Let me start with the definition and meanings of “tokidoki”.
- tokidoki – 時々 (ときどき) : an adverb of frequency, meaning ‘sometimes’, ‘occasionally’, or ‘from time to time’ in Japanese.
The definition and meanings are simple and clear, I think. Especially the meanings seem to be based on the same concept. To understand this word more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.
“Tokidoki” in kanji
The kanji expression of “tokidoki” consists of the following two characters:
- 時 : a kanji character widely used to mean ‘time’ in Japanese. This kanji can also be found in other words like “jikan“.
- 々 : a kanji character used to avoid repeating the same kanji in a row. So, this works as an iteration mark in kanji expressions.
From these two kanji characters, we can understand that “tokidoki” literally means ‘time time’. Interestingly, this kanji concept looks similar to that of the phrase “from time to time”. The two languages seem to have a similar concept on how to express the frequency.
When we meet new kanji expressions, we should check their kanji characters in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, kanji characters tell us a lot about meanings of words they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “tokidoki” through the detailed kanji check above.
Then, let me explain how to use “tokidoki” through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “sometimes” in Japanese
watashi tachi wa tokidoki jimu ni iki masu – 私達は時々ジムに行きます (わたしたちはときどきじむにいきます)
Sometimes we go to a gym.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
- tachi – 達 (たち) : a suffix used after a noun or pronoun to make its plural form. In the example, this is used after “watashi” to make its plural form, “watashi tachi”, which means ‘we’ in Japanese. Learn more about Japanese plural.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this is used after “watashi tachi” to make the subject word in the sentence.
- jimu – ジム (じむ) : a noun meaning ‘gym’ in Japanese. This word originally came from the English word, “gym”.
- ni – に : a case particle used to say where someone or something goes. In the example, this is used after “jimu” to say where “watashi tachi” go sometimes.
- iki – 行き (いき) : one conjugation of the verb, “iku”, which means ‘to go’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- masu – ます : an auxiliary verb used after a verb to make it polite. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese masu form. In the example, this is used after “iki” to make it sound polite.
This is a typical usage of “tokidoki”. It is an adverb, so can be inserted almost anywhere in a sentence to say “sometimes” in Japanese. Besides the example sentence, therefore, we can say “tokidoki watashi tachi wa jimu ni iki masu” or “watashi tachi wa jimu ni tokidoki iki masu” to mean the same thing.
Example #2: another usage of “tokidoki”
tokidoki kare no eigo ga wakara nai – 時々彼の英語が分からない (ときどきかれのえいごがわからない)
Sometimes, I can’t understand his English.
Below are new words used in the example sentence.
- kare – 彼 (かれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘he’ in Japanese.
- no – の : a case particle used after a noun or pronoun to make its possessive case. In the example, this is used after “kare” to make its possessive case, “kare no”, which means ‘his’ in Japanese. Learn more about “no” through “watashi no“.
- eigo – 英語 (えいご) : a noun meaning ‘English’ or ‘the English language’ in Japanese.
- ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after the noun phrase, “kare no eigo”, to make the object word in the sentence.
- wakara – 分から (わから) : one conjugation of the verb, “wakaru“, which means ‘to see’ or ‘to understand’ in Japanese. In this example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- nai – ない : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to deny its meaning. In the example, this is used after “wakara” to deny its meaning. Word orders in Japanese and English are different, but the role of this auxiliary verb is similar to that of “not”.
This is another typical usage of “tokidoki”. In this example, it works at the beginning of the sentence to say “sometimes” in Japanese. When we want to say “sometimes” in Japanese, it would be the best option.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained “tokidoki” in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- tokidoki – 時々 (ときどき) : an adverb of frequency, meaning ‘sometimes’, ‘occasionally’, or ‘from time to time’ in Japanese. These two kanji characters literally mean ‘time time’ in Japanese, as the second one can work as an iteration mark in kanji expressions. So, this kanji concept looks similar to that of the English phrase, “from time to time”.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
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