French word

souvent

Pronunciation

IPA/suvɑ̃/

Meaning

  • adverboften

Example

Nous dînons souvent ensemble.

We often have dinner together.

Illustration for souvent (often)

More examples

Je vais très souvent au marché.

I go to the market very often.

Core concept

A recurring event marks many points on a timeline rather than happening only once.

Common phrases

  • très souvent

    very often

  • souvent le cas

    often the case

Similar words

parfois: Happening now and then, without a regular pattern.
régulièrement: Happening repeatedly at roughly fixed intervals.
habituellement: Indicating a usual habit or normal state of affairs.
fréquemment: Indicating a high frequency of occurrence; somewhat formal in tone.

Definition in French

Indique qu'une action ou un fait se produit fréquemment dans le temps.

Word origin

The adverb souvent developed from Old French sovent, ultimately derived from Latin subinde for repeated occurrence.

Usage tips

  • In ne ... pas souvent, the adverb means not frequently, as in Il ne voyage pas souvent.

Opposites

Word lists with this word