ó am go chéile
The English word "occasionally" is translated into Irish as ó am go chéile.
ó am go chéile is used to describe things that happen at relatively infrequent intervals.
Meaning: at relatively infrequent intervals (adv)
How does it change in a sentence?
As an adverbial idiom, ó am go chéile is stable and does not change its form based on the tense of the sentence or the subject being discussed.
Did you know?
- The word go in this phrase is a distant relative of the English prefix 'gain-' and the Spanish word con, all descending from a root meaning 'with' or 'along'.
- Using ó am go chéile allows a speaker to soften a statement, making a habit seem less frequent or less intrusive than using a direct frequency word.
- The phrase ó am go chéile literally structures the concept of time as a movement from one point to another, rather than a frequency.
Examples in context
- Bím ag rith uaireantaI sometimes go running
- Ó am go chéile, casann mé ar mo sheanchara.Occasionally, I run into my old friends.
Example conversation
Oisín and Aoife are talking about their exercise habits.
- OisínAn dtéann tú ag rith gach lá?Do you go running every day?
- AoifeNí théann mé, ach téim ó am go chéile.I don't, but I go occasionally.
- OisínAn bhfuil sé sin go leor duit, Aoife?Is that enough for you, Aoife?
- AoifeTá, tá sé go maith liom.Yes, I like it.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries am, go, ó, CC BY-SA 4.0.
