時々 details
sometimes + write
tokidoki kaku
sometimes; now and then — occasions that recur but stay in the minority
meaning: write sometimes
この本屋は帰り道にあるので、時々寄る。
kono hon'ya wa kaerimichi ni aru node, tokidoki yoru.
This bookshop is on my way home, so I stop by sometimes. neutral
時々、何もしたくない日があるよね。
tokidoki, nani mo shitakunai hi ga aru yo ne.
Sometimes you get a day when you don't want to do anything, right? casual
Examples
sometimes; from time to time — recurring occasions the speaker treats as the exception, not the rule
この本屋は帰り道にあるので、時々寄る。
kono hon'ya wa kaerimichi ni aru node, tokidoki yoru.
This bookshop is on my way home, so I stop by sometimes. neutral
時々、何もしたくない日があるよね。
tokidoki, nani mo shitakunai hi ga aru yo ne.
Sometimes you get a day when you don't want to do anything, right? casual
祖母は今でも時々着物を着ます。
sobo wa ima demo tokidoki kimono o kimasu.
My grandmother still wears a kimono now and then. neutral
当店では時々設備の点検を行っております。
touten de wa tokidoki setsubi no tenken o okonatte orimasu.
We carry out equipment inspections here from time to time. formal
Formation
時々{V}attaches to dictionary form
Related patterns
Similar
時々 is an adverb inside the clause and leaves the predicate's own tense free, while 〜ことがある predicates the occasionality itself and carries the tense on the ある — 時々遅れた reports occasions that actually happened, 時々遅れることがあった only that the possibility stood.
The same pre-verbal slot and the same job of counting occasions, but よく claims the act is the norm and says nothing about the gaps, while 時々 caps the count low and concedes the gaps are long — よく行く advertises a habit, 時々行く plays one down.