偶尔 ǒu’er & 老 lǎo

Posted on by tiffany

OneDotDot Chinese
Grammar · HSK 4
Grammar Point · HSK 4

偶尔 ǒu’ěr & 老 lǎo

偶尔 ǒu’ěr (“occasionally”) and 老 lǎo (“always,” colloquial) sit at opposite ends of the frequency scale — one for things that barely happen, one for things that won’t stop happening.

偶爾 / 老 — Occasionally and Always, Chinese grammar

Both sit before the verb. 偶尔 ǒu’ěr marks something rare; 老 lǎo marks something that keeps happening — usually with a hint of complaint.

1Structure

S + 偶尔 ǒu’ěr / 老 lǎo + V

Word Frequency Usage
偶尔 ǒu’ěr Low — now and then Something that happens occasionally, not the norm. Neutral tone — no complaint attached.
老 lǎo High — persistent A short, colloquial stand-in for 老是 lǎoshì — describes a behavior that keeps recurring, almost always with a note of complaint or exasperation.
我wǒ偶尔ǒu’ěr会huì去qù健身房jiànshēnfáng。
I occasionally go to the gym.
他tā偶尔ǒu’ěr迟到chídào，但dàn大部分dàbùfèn时间shíjiān都dōu很hěn准时zhǔnshí。
He’s occasionally late, but most of the time he’s punctual.
我们wǒmen偶尔ǒu’ěr会huì一起yìqǐ吃chī晚饭wǎnfàn。
We occasionally have dinner together.
偶尔ǒu’ěr放纵fàngzòng一下yíxià没méi关系guānxi。
It’s fine to indulge occasionally.
你nǐ老lǎo迟到chídào，到底dàodǐ怎么zěnme了le？
You’re always late, what’s wrong?
他tā老lǎo忘记wàngjì带dài伞sǎn。
He always forgets his umbrella.
我wǒ老lǎo觉得juéde哪里nǎlǐ不bù对劲duìjìn。
I always feel like something’s off.

2Common Mistake

❌ 他tā偶尔ǒu’ěr迟到chídào，我wǒ快kuài受shòu不bù了liǎo了le
✅ 他tā老lǎo迟到chídào，我wǒ快kuài受shòu不bù了liǎo了le
“I can’t take it anymore” signals a persistent, ongoing annoyance — that calls for 老 lǎo (habitual), not 偶尔 ǒu’ěr (occasional).

3Practice

Translate each sentence into Chinese, then tap the card to check your answer.

01I occasionally eat fast food.
我wǒ偶尔ǒu’ěr吃chī快餐kuàicān。
👆 Tap to reveal
02You’re always on your phone, put it down for a bit.
你nǐ老lǎo在zài刷shuā手机shǒujī，放fàng下xià一下yíxià吧ba。
👆 Tap to reveal
03We occasionally go hiking on weekends.
我们wǒmen周末zhōumò偶尔ǒu’ěr会huì去qù爬山páshān。
👆 Tap to reveal
04My brother always loses his keys.
我wǒ哥gē老lǎo丢diū钥匙yàoshi。
👆 Tap to reveal
05It’s okay to be lazy occasionally.
偶尔ǒu’ěr懒惰lǎnduò一下yíxià没méi关系guānxi。
👆 Tap to reveal
06She always complains about the weather.
她tā老lǎo抱怨bàoyuàn天气tiānqì。
👆 Tap to reveal
07Do you occasionally miss home?
你nǐ偶尔ǒu’ěr会huì想xiǎng家jiā吗ma？
👆 Tap to reveal
08This road is always jammed at rush hour.
这zhè条tiáo路lù高峰gāofēng时间shíjiān老lǎo堵车dǔchē。
👆 Tap to reveal

Related Grammar

→常 cháng & 经常 jīngcháng — “Often”(HSK 2) →总 zǒng / 总是 zǒngshì — “Always”(HSK 3)

Enjoyed this post? Buy me a coffee so I can keep writing more of these ☕

Support OneDotDot Chinese