ちょくちょく

ちょ

く

ちょ

く

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

Describes an action that happens repeatedly at short intervals, but not constantly. It can range from 'often' to 'occasionally' depending on context, but always implies a certain regularity.

彼かれはちょくちょくこの店みせに来くる。
He comes to this shop quite often.
最さい近きん、ちょくちょく雨あめが降ふるね。
It's been raining on and off lately, hasn't it?

Usage patterns

ちょくちょく〈場ば所しょ〉に行いくto go to a place fairly often
最さい近きん、あの店みせにちょくちょく行いっている。
Lately I've been going to that shop pretty often.
ちょくちょく顔かおを出だすto drop by/show up now and then
彼かれは忙いそがしいはずなのに、ちょくちょく顔かおを出だす。
He's supposed to be busy, but he shows up quite often.
〈人ひと〉とちょくちょく会あうto meet someone fairly frequently
大だい学がく時じ代だいの友ゆう人じんとはちょくちょく会あっている。
I meet up with my college friends pretty often.

Related words· 6

よくN5
よく is the general, everyday word for 'often', while ちょくちょく specifically evokes light, casual repetition at short intervals.
しばしばN3
しばしば is a more formal, written-register word for 'often', whereas ちょくちょく sounds casual and conversational.
たびたびN3
たびたび emphasizes repeated occurrences and can sound slightly formal or even mildly annoyed, while ちょくちょく is lighter and more casual.
時とき々どきN5
時々 is neutral and simply means 'sometimes', while ちょくちょく implies a somewhat higher, more habitual frequency.

Show 2 more

たまにN4
たまに means 'occasionally', with longer gaps between occurrences, while ちょくちょく suggests a noticeably higher frequency.
ちょいちょいN1
ちょくちょく is the more common, neutral word for regular repeated action, while ちょいちょい can sound more casual or colloquial.

Etymology

The exact derivation is uncertain; it is a reduplicated mimetic adverb, likely related to the sound-symbolic element ちょく suggesting a light, repeated action.