from time to time

\fɹɒm taɪm tə taɪm\

/\fɹɒm taɪm tə taɪm\/ adv

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“from time to time” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
17
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - De temps en temps.

Key facts for from time to time
PropertyValue
Headwordfrom time to time
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdverb
IPA\fɹɒm taɪm tə taɪm\
Letters17
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “from time to time” sits in French frequency

from time to time falls outside the top-100,000 ranked French words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

from time to time is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed \fɹɒm taɪm tə taɪm\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "De temps en temps.".

from time to time doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. The correct French form is from time to time, spelled F-R-O-M- -T-I-M-E- -T-O- -T-I-M-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    De temps en temps.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "from time to time"?
"from time to time" is spelled F-R-O-M- -T-I-M-E- -T-O- -T-I-M-E. The IPA pronunciation is \fɹɒm taɪm tə taɪm\.
What does "from time to time" mean?
As an adverb, "from time to time" means: De temps en temps.
How do you pronounce "from time to time"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "from time to time" is \fɹɒm taɪm tə taɪm\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "from time to time" come from?
"from time to time" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “from time to time”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is F-R-O-M- -T-I-M-E- -T-O- -T-I-M-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \fɹɒm taɪm tə taɪm\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list