Intervals
ごとに
Every Unit
Unitごとに
ごとに is a suffix that means “every”. It is used with units to indicate that something happens or is every X unit. It is basically the same thing as adding 毎 in front of the word. (same kanji, too).
- 5分ごとになる – It rings every 5 minutes.
- 1キロごとにある – There’s (one) every 1 km.
- 部屋ごとにあります – There’s one in every room.
おきに
Leaving X in between
Noun おきに
おきに means “Leaving X in between”. Crucially, for units of 1 day or larger, this is refers to calendar units. This means that a day is not 24 hours, but a day on the calendar, so you need to imagine the scenario on a calendar. Take a look at this table:
| Day | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1日おきに | 〇 | ✖ | 〇 | ✖ | 〇 |
| 1日ごとに | 〇 | 〇 | 〇 | 〇 | 〇 |
| Week | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 |
| 1週間おきに | 〇 | ✖ | 〇 | ✖ | 〇 |
| 1週間ごとに | 〇 | 〇 | 〇 | 〇 | 〇 |
〇 = Action
✖ = No Action
Those spaces of no action (✖) are what おきに refers to leaving in between.
- 1週間おきにお母とビデオチャットする – I talk to my mom every other week. (1 week in between).
- 一時間おきにタバコを吸う – (He) smokes cigarettes every hour.
- オリンピックは3年おきに行われている – The Olympics are held every 4 years. (3 years between).
The reason おきに and ごとに mean the same with small units of time is because it doesn’t (really) matter.
Leaving 30 seconds in between and doing something every 30 seconds is effectively the same thing.
Reference 1 (Japanese)
Reference 2 (Japanese)
たびに
Every time X is done
Plain form verb + たびに
たび is a noun that means “occasion”. たびに marks the occasion as the time for the sentence. It is used with nouns to mean “Every action, y happens”.
- 彼女の顔を見るたびに笑う – I smile every time I see her face.
- 失敗するたびに立ち直る – Get back up every time you fail.
- 殴られるたびに意識が遠くなった – His consciousness faded out every time he got punched.