Phrase guide

now and then

adv · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • /ˌnaʊ ən(d)ˈðɛn/
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  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

adv

Meaning 1

Synonym of occasionally, sometimes, intermittently.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic, not-comparable

Examples

  • Call your mother now and then and let her know you care.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: every now and again, every now and then, now and again, occasionally, sometimes, intermittently

Antonyms: none provided

2

adverb

Meaning 2

now and then or here and there

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • he was arrogant and occasionally callous
  • open areas are only occasionally interrupted by clumps of trees
  • they visit New York on occasion
  • now and again she would take her favorite book from the shelf and read to us
  • as we drove along, the beautiful scenery now and then attracted his attention

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: occasionally, on occasion, once in a while, now and again, at times, from time to time

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Compare Dutch nu en dan, West Frisian no en dan.

Across languages

Translations

90 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: af en toe — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Armenian: ժամանակ առ ժամանակ (žamanak aṙ žamanak) — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Azerbaijani: arabir — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Azerbaijani: vaxtaşırı — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Bulgarian: от вре́ме на вре́ме (ot vréme na vréme) — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Bulgarian: сеги́з-тоги́з (segíz-togíz) — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Catalan: de tant en tant — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Catalan: ara i adés — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Catalan: adesiara — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Chinese Mandarin: 偶爾 /偶尔 (ǒu'ěr) — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Chinese Mandarin: 時而 /时而 (shí'ér) — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Czech: tu a tam — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Danish: nu og da — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Dutch: af en toe — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Dutch: nu en dan — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Esperanto: de tempo al tempo — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Esperanto: fojfoje — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Finnish: silloin tällöin — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Finnish: joskus — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • French: de temps en temps — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • French: de temps à autre — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • West-Frisian: no en dan — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • West-Frisian: út en troch — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Georgian: ხანგამოშვებით (xangamošvebit) — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Georgian: დროგამოშვებით (drogamošvebit) — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Georgian: წამდაუწუმ (c̣amdauc̣um) — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Georgian: კანტიკუნტად (ḳanṭiḳunṭad) — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Georgian: დროდადრო (drodadro) — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • German: hin und wieder — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • German: ab und zu — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • German: mitunter — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • German: dann und wann — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Greek: πότε-πότε (póte-póte) — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Greek: πού και πού (poú kai poú) — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Hungarian: hébe-hóba — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Hungarian: egyszer-egyszer — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Hungarian: időnként — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Hungarian: olykor — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Hungarian: néha — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Hungarian: olykor-olykor — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Hungarian: néha-néha — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Hunsrik: ab un zu — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Icelandic: stöku sinnum — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Ido: tempope — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Irish: anois is arís — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Irish: anois agus arís — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Italian: di tanto in tanto — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Italian: ogni tanto — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Japanese: 時々 (tokidoki) — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Japanese: 偶に (tama ni) — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Lao: ເລື້ອຍໆ (lư̄ai lư̄ai) — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Latin: interdum — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Norwegian: av og til — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Norwegian: nå og da — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Norwegian Bokmål: av og til — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Norwegian Bokmål: nå og da — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Norwegian Bokmål: fra tid til annen — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: av og til — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: nå og da — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Occitan: de quand en quand — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Polish: od czasu do czasu — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Polish: raz na jakiś czas — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Polish: co jakiś czas — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Portuguese: vez por outra — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Portuguese: de vez em quando — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Portuguese: ocasionalmente — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Romanian: câteodată — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Romanian: uneori — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Romanian: când și când — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Russian: то и де́ло (to i délo) — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Russian: времена́ми (vremenámi) — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Russian: вре́мя от вре́мени (vrémja ot vrémeni) — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Scottish Gaelic: an-dràsta 's a-rithist — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Scottish Gaelic: corra uair — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Scottish Gaelic: a-nis is a-rithist — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Serbo-Croatian: ту и тамо — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Serbo-Croatian: с времена на време — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Serbo-Croatian: некад и некад — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Serbo-Croatian: sada i tada — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Serbo-Croatian: s vremena na vrijeme — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Slovak: sem-tam — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Spanish: de vez en cuando — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Swedish: av och till — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Swedish: till och från — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Swedish: då och då — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Tagalog: paminsan-minsan — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Turkish: ara sıra — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Turkish: bazen — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Ukrainian: час від ча́су (čas vid čásu) — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently
  • Welsh: bob hyn a hyn — (idiomatic) sometimes; occasionally; intermittently