Meaning of 偶尔
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- occasionally
- once in a while
- sometimes
How to use 偶尔
偶尔 is an adverb that goes before the verb to say something happens now and then, not often. It is common in both speech and writing. Example: 我偶尔喝咖啡。(Wǒ ǒu'ěr hē kāfēi.) I drink coffee once in a while.
偶 (ǒu) has the person radical 亻, and 尔 (ěr) is a simple suffix-like character. Picture a person who shows up only once in a while, and you have 偶尔 (ǒu'ěr), occasionally.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 偶尔 (ǒu'ěr) with 偶然 (ǒurán). 偶尔 is about low frequency, while 偶然 means by chance or accidentally, as in 偶然遇到 (ǒurán yùdào), to run into by chance. Also remember both syllables are third tone, so in speech 偶 changes to a rising tone: óu'ěr.
偶尔 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
偶 ǒu · accidentally · 11 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
尔 ěr · you · 5 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Related words
Words that share a character with 偶尔.
| 偶然 | ǒurán | incidentally; occasional |
| 偶像 | ǒuxiàng | idol |
| 木偶 | mù'ǒu | puppet |
| 高尔夫球 | gāo'ěrfūqiú | golf; golf ball |
| 配偶 | pèi'ǒu | spouse |
| 摩尔 | Mó'ěr | mole (chemistry) |
| 高尔夫 | gāo'ěrfū | (loanword) golf |
| 玩偶 | wán'ǒu | toy figurine; action figure |
| 人偶 | rén'ǒu | puppet; figure |
| 阿尔法 | ā'ěrfǎ | alpha (Greek letter Α, α) |
| 荷尔蒙 | hé'ěrméng | (loanword) hormone |
| 瑞尔 | ruì'ěr | riel (Cambodian currency) |
Questions about 偶尔
What does 偶尔 mean?
偶尔 (ǒu'ěr) means "occasionally; once in a while" and is used as a adverb.
How do you write 偶尔?
偶尔 is made of 2 characters: 偶 (11 strokes), 尔 (5 strokes). That is 16 strokes in total.
Is 偶尔 an HSK word?
Yes. 偶尔 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 偶尔 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 偶尔 is written 偶爾.
What is the difference between 偶尔 and 有时候?
有时候 (yǒu shíhou) means sometimes and is neutral about frequency. 偶尔 suggests something happens less often, closer to rarely or once in a while.
Can 偶尔 go at the start of a sentence?
Yes, it can, as in 偶尔，他也会迟到。(Ǒu'ěr, tā yě huì chídào.) Occasionally he is late too. More often, though, it sits after the subject and before the verb.