often
oft·en/ˈɒfən/adverb
often is spelled O-F-T-E-N: 5 letters and 2 syllables (oft·en). It appears 257 times per million words in written English, the 373rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, often means “Frequently; many times on different occasions” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in often?
| Letters | 5: O-F-T-E-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: oft·en |
| In writing | 257 times per million words; the 373rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is often?
Often appears 257 times per million words in written English, the 373rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce often?
- UK /ˈɒfən/
- UK /ˈɒftən/
- UK /ˈɔːfən/
Often has 2 syllables, split oft·en in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-often.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of often
- more often comparative
- oftener comparative
- most often superlative
- oftenest superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does often mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
Frequently; many times on different occasions.
I often walk to work when the weather is nice.
adjective
- 1
archaicFrequent.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate often?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of often: oft..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Often in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense frequently, many times:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | souvent, souventefois |
| German | häufig, oft |
| Portuguese | frequentemente, seguido, amiúde |
| Spanish | a menudo, seguido, soler, acostumbrar (a) |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does often come from?
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”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).