often

CEFRA1

/ˈɒfən/

adverb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adverb

    Many times or frequently.

  2. 02

    adverb

    Extra detail

    Frequently; many times on different occasions.

Examples

  • I live near the sea, so I often get to go to the beach.

  • Spenser's mother often scrutinizes him for every small mistake he makes.

At a glance

Sits at A1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
2
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • /ˈɒftən/

Deep Dive

More examples

In context

  • Unfortunately the animals are often caught in fishing nets.

  • I often walk to work when the weather is nice.

  • I’ve been going to the movies more often since a new theatre opened near me.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Quick test

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Nearby

Origin

adverb

From Middle English often, alteration (with final -n added due to analogy with Middle English selden (“seldom”)) of Middle English ofte, oft, from Old English oft (“often”), from Proto-Germanic *ufta, *uftō (“often”). Cognates Cognate with Scots affen, aften, af'en, oaffen, oaften, oftin (“often”), North Frisian aaft, oftem, oofting (“often”), Saterland Frisian oafte (“often”), German, Luxembourgish and Pennsylvania German oft (“often”), Yiddish אָפֿט (oft, “often”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk ofte (“often”), Faroese, Swedish ofta (“often”), Icelandic oft (“often”), Gothic 𐌿𐍆𐍄𐌰 (ufta, “often”).