Tama-ni mi-ni itta-kedo, saikin itte-nai-nā. (I used to go occasionally, but I haven't been recently.)

Situation 1: During a break, Ms. Gray and her colleague Ms. Tamachi are chatting.

グレイ： ねえ、田町さんはお芝居が好き？

田町： そうねえ。たまに見に行ったけど、最近行ってない なあ。

Gray: Nē, Tamachi-san-wa o-shibai-ga suki?

Tamachi: Sō-nē. Tama-ni mi-ni itta-kedo, saikin itte-nai-nā.

Gray: Hey, do you like going to the theater?

Tamachi: Well, yes. I used to go occasionally, but I haven't been recently.

Today we will introduce the proper use of two adverbs, たまに and たまたま, that sound similar but have rather different meanings. たまに means "once in a while," "occasionally" or "rarely," and shows that the speaker thinks subjectively that the frequency with which something occurs is low. Examples: 私はあまりスポーツに 興味(きょうみ)がないが、たまにテレビでサッカーの試合(しあい)を 見(み)ることもある (I'm not so interested in sports, but I watch soccer matches on TV every once in a while); 静岡(しずおか)では ほとんど雪(ゆき)が降(ふ)らないが、たまに降ることがある (We seldom have snow in Shizuoka, but it does snow occasionally). たまに is often used in the emphasized pattern たまには. This phrase implies that something does not happen normally, but it does occur occasionally. Examples: たまにはいいことを言(い)うね (Even you come up with a good idea once in a while); たまには うちに遊(あそ)びに来(き)てださいね (Please drop by every now and then). たまに can also be used as a noun modifier in the pattern たまの, as in たまの休(やす)みなんだから、家(いえ)でゆっくりしたいなあ (I only get a day off every so often, so I want to take it easy at home).

Situation 2: Mr. Sere and Mr. Mita are talking about their old friend Mr. Yamaguchi.

セレ： きのう、すごく久しぶりに山口さんに会ったんだよ。 たまたま同じ電車に乗っていたんだ。

三田： へえ、そう。何年ぶりかなあ。

Sere: Kinō, sugoku hisashiburi-ni Yamaguchi-san-ni atta-n-da-yo. Tamatama onaji densha-ni notte-ita-n-da.

Mita: Hē, sō. Nannen-buri-ka-nā.

Sere: Yesterday I bumped into Mr. Yamaguchi for the first time in ages. We happened to be on the same train.

Mita: Oh, really? How many years must it be since you last met him?

たまたま means "by chance" or "by accident" and is used when something happens unexpectedly. たまたま implies that there was no intention or objective reason for the event. Example: 今回は たまたまうまくいったが、いつもはこんなにうまくいかない (Things happened to go well this time, but it doesn't always go as well as this).

Bonus Dialogue: At the Okubos' house, son Mitsuo comes home late, and Mrs. Okubo wants to know why.

母： おかえり。遅(おそ)かったね。どこかに寄(よ)ってたの？

光男： 発表(はっぴょう)のために図書館(としょかん)に行(い) っていたんだ。

母： へえ、図書館？珍(めずら)しいね。

光男： ぼくだって、たまには図書館に行くよ。‥帰(かえ)る ときに道(みち)を歩(ある)いていたら、おじいさんが しゃがんでいるのが見(み)えたんだ。

母： え、大変(たいへん)。具合(ぐあい)が悪(わる)くなっちゃったんじゃない？

光男： うん。どうしようかって思っていたとき、たまたま おまわりさんが歩いてきたんだ。そこでおじいさんの ことを言(い)ったら、すぐに救急車(きゅうきゅうしゃ)を呼(よ)んでくれたんだよ。

母： へえ、そうだったの。光男もたまにはいいことをする のね。

光男： 「たまには」は余計(よけい)だよ。ねえ、それより、 たまには外(そと)でおすしが食(た)べたいなあ。

母： じゃあ、あした行きましょう。でも、もちろん回転ずしよ。

Mother: Welcome home. You're late. Did you stop off somewhere?

Mitsuo: I went to the library for my presentation.

Mother: The library? That's unusual!

Mitsuo: Even I go to the library every once in a while. On the way home, I saw an old man crouching on the ground.

Mother: Oh, no! Was there something wrong with him?

Mitsuo: Yeah. Just as I was wondering what I should do, a policeman happened to walk by, so I told him about the old guy. Then he called an ambulance.

Mother: Oh, really! Even you do good deeds once in a while.

Mitsuo: "Once in a while" is a bit much! By the way, why don't we go out to eat sushi "once in a while"?

Mother: OK then, let's eat out tomorrow — but at a conveyor belt sushi restaurant, of course.