いつも details
always + write
itsumo kaku
always; every time — a habit stated with no exceptions allowed
meaning: write all the time
この方法は、迷ったときにいつも使う。
kono houhou wa, mayotta toki ni itsumo tsukau.
When I'm stuck, this is the method I use all the time. neutral
またその話？いつも同じこと言ってるよ。
mata sono hanashi? itsumo onaji koto itteru yo.
That story again? You say the same thing every time. casual
- adnominal
Examples
always; every time — the speaker's claim is that no occasion falls outside it
この方法は、迷ったときにいつも使う。
kono houhou wa, mayotta toki ni itsumo tsukau.
When I'm stuck, this is the method I use all the time. neutral
またその話？いつも同じこと言ってるよ。
mata sono hanashi? itsumo onaji koto itteru yo.
That story again? You say the same thing every time. casual
この電車は朝の時間帯はいつも混んでいます。
kono densha wa asa no jikantai wa itsumo konde imasu.
This train is always packed during the morning hours. neutral
いつもお世話になっております。
itsumo osewa ni natte orimasu.
Thank you for your continued support. formal
Formation
いつも{V}attaches to dictionary form
Variant notes
- いつもの — names the habitual one rather than the habit — いつもの店で待ってるね。
Related patterns
Similar
いつも counts REPEATED occasions and ずっと measures ONE unbroken stretch, so the two split a sentence's meaning rather than its register — いつも待っている says the waiting happens on every occasion, ずっと待っている that a single wait has never let up.
たびに needs a triggering clause to hang the repetition on (帰るたびに), while いつも hangs on nothing and simply asserts the habit holds — "every time X happens" against a bare "always".
いつも is falsified by a single exception, よく is not — so よく遅れる complains about a tendency the speaker could still find counterexamples to, and いつも遅れる accuses the person of every occasion at once.