French Conversation · Level 36
75 words
French word
rarement
Pronunciation
IPA/ʁaʁəmɑ̃/
Meaning
- adverbrarely
Example
Je vais rarement au cinéma.
I rarely go to the cinema.
More examples
On trouve rarement des places libres le week-end.
One rarely finds available seats on weekends.
Core concept
An almost empty calendar marks an event that appears only occasionally.
Common phrases
répondre rarement aux messages
rarely reply to messages
manger rarement des sucreries
rarely eat sweets
utiliser rarement son téléphone la nuit
rarely use one's phone at night
Similar words
parfois: Happening sometimes, but not on a regular basis.
de temps en temps: Happening now and then at irregular intervals.
quelquefois: Happening from time to time, depending on the circumstances.
occasionnellement: Happening infrequently or only under special circumstances.
Definition in French
Marque une fréquence très faible, utilisé pour dire qu'une action arrive rarement.
Word origin
Rarement is formed from French rare with the adverbial suffix -ment; rare comes from Latin rarus, meaning 'sparse'.
Usage tips
- In a simple tense, rarement usually follows the conjugated verb, while in a compound tense it usually follows the auxiliary, as in J'ai rarement visité Paris.
Opposites
- souventoftenadverb
- constammentconstantlyadverb