sporadically

/spɝˈædɪkɫi/ adv

At an occasional, infrequent, or irregular frequency.

Word Origin Sporadically comes from Greek 'sporas', scattered, from 'speirein' to sow. So something sporadic is like seeds scattered irregularly. The same root gives us diaspora (scattering of people) and sperm (seed). The -ic, -al, -ly suffixes build the adverb. So sporadically means happening now and then, like scattered seeds sprouting unpredictably.

adv At an occasional, infrequent, or irregular frequency.

He only visits his hometown sporadically, perhaps once every few years.

(副词) 零星地;偶尔地;间歇地

他只是偶尔回老家,可能几年才一次。

(adverbio) esporádicamente; ocasionalmente; de vez en cuando; eventualmente [Con una frecuencia ocasional, infrecuente o irregular.]

Solo visita su ciudad natal **esporádicamente**, quizá una vez cada pocos años.

(adverbe) sporadiquement; irrégulièrement; de temps en temps; par intermittence; de loin en loin [De manière occasionnelle, à une fréquence irrégulière et peu fréquente.]

Il ne rend visite à sa ville natale que **sporadically**, peut-être une fois tous les deux ou trois ans.

(Adverb) sporadisch; vereinzelt; gelegentlich [In unregelmäßigen, gelegentlichen Abständen; nicht kontinuierlich oder häufig.]

Er besucht seine Heimatstadt nur **sporadically**, vielleicht alle paar Jahre einmal.

(副詞) 散発的に、たまにしか起こらない不規則な頻度で。

彼は故郷を時折しか訪れず、数年に一度ほどかもしれない。

(advérbio) esporadicamente; de vez em quando; ocasionalmente; a intervalos irregulares; esporadicamente [Com frequência ocasional, infrequente ou irregular.]

Ele só visita sua cidade natal esporadicamente, talvez uma vez a cada poucos anos.

Word parts: sporadic + al + ly

Common collocations

be verb only adv have verb in prep of prep continue verb at prep into prep from prep to prep

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