adverbial N3 common casualpolitewritten
たまには — once in a while
たまには
Meaning
- once in a while / for a change — suggests doing something out of the ordinary on a rare occasion
Key sentence
たまには外で食事しよう。
Let's eat out for a change.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Sentence-initial adverbial | たまには + [clause] | たまには休んだら / たまには電話してね |
Examples
たまには親に手紙でも書いたらどうですか。
Why not write your parents a letter once in a while?
いつも家にいるけど、たまには旅行もいいものだ。
I'm always at home, but a trip once in a while is nice too.
Easily confused with
Notes
- From たま{偶} ('occasional') + には. The plain たまに just means 'occasionally'; adding は highlights the rare occasion against the everyday and invites doing something different.
See たまには in real sentences
Jengo shows たまには the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Advanced Japanese Grammar.