Structure
Number + Counter + おきに
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About おきに
置きに is a combination of 置き, a suffix meaning 'opening' or 'interval', and the case marking particle に. Primarily written without kanji, it is an expression used to show that something happens 'every (A)', or 'at intervals of (A)'.
The difference between something being interpreted as 'every', or 'at intervals of' can be tricky though, so we'll look at both.
Due to おきに being a suffix, it will be attached to the end of numbers, counters, or any 'space' that it is highlighting as being an 'opening' or 'interval'.
Looking at these sentences, we can see that the 'interval' is a bit difficult to understand even in English. However, the easier way to think of おきに in this sense is 'leaving a space of (A), (B)'. So if we say 'leaving a space of two days, (B)', it becomes a bit clearer that something is happening during the third day.
Caution
It is very common to get ごとに and おきに mixed up. The former literally means 'every'. However, the latter having the meaning of 'at intervals' makes things confusing. おきに itself will only mean 'every' sometimes. Let's look at some examples of when these two expressions overlap in meaning, and when they do not.
Large time frames or distances - Only ごとに will be used to express 'every'. It makes sense to ask 'at what point' during a day, a week, or a month. Due to this, only おきに will mean 'after the interval of (A)', while ごとに means 'every'.
- 一日ごとに目薬を差す。I use my eye drops every day. (It doesn't matter what part of the day, but it does happen every day)
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一日おきに目薬を差す。I use my eye drops every second day. (It makes sense to wonder when it may occur during the second day, but we know it doesn't happen for at least an interval of one whole day)
Small time frames or distances - Both ごとに and おきに may be used to express 'every'. It doesn't make sense to care about 'at what point' during seconds, minutes, or hours. Here, because おきに points at the interval, it will mean 'every interval of one second' etc, because nobody is going to ask 'when did (B) happen during the next second', so the space is just assumed to be 'one second'.
- 毎日２時間ごとに体を動かしている。I move my body every two hours, every day. (At some point during every group of 2 hours)
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毎日２時間おきに体を動かしている。I move my body every two hours, every day. (After every interval of two hours. Nobody cares about 'when during the third hour', so we just understand it as 'every two hours')
In summary, おきに will mean 'every (A)' for seconds, minutes, hours, millimeters, centimeters, and kilometers. But it will mean 'with spaces of' for almost anything bigger than that. This is not an exception to the rule, it is just a change of focus as spaces get larger. We can just remember that おきに always has one job. It highlights that (B) occurs after or outside of (A). While ごとに highlights (B) happening within (A).
一秒おきに - The space is 'one second', so if おきに points to the beginning of the next second, the space is still only 'one second'. Because おきに doesn't care about where (B) happens within that next second, we assume straight away.
五年おきに - The space is 'five years', so if おきに points to the beginning of the next year, the space becomes 'six years', because we are going to want to know where (B) happens within that next year. It would be strange to assume someone is waiting for New Year of the sixth year to do something instantly.
Fun Fact
This is a topic that native speakers frequently get wrong themselves, so don't worry if it takes a while to understand! If you are unsure about which one to use, think of 置きに as 'leaving intervals of (A), (B)' for most purposes. 一時間 tends to be the upper limit of time that most people disagree about whether the meaning is 'every hour', or 'every second hour'. This makes sense, as the time frame is short, but still sort of long, so whether someone takes it as the beginning of the hour or some point during that hour being the important information, their opinions may differ. Remember though, おきに itself only ever points to the beginning of the space after (A), it doesn't care when/where (B) happens afterward.
Synonyms
Examples
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３０分置きに休憩しよう。
Let's take a break in intervals of 30 minutes.
約３分置きに電車が来ます。
Trains come about every 3 minutes.
１時間置きに温度を測ってください。
Please check the temperature every other hour.
50メートル置きに自動販売機がある。
There are vending machines every 50 meters.
階段を一段置きに飛ばして上がる。
He goes up the stairs skipping every second step.
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Detailed Explanation ごとに vs. おきに
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おきに – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (30 in total)
Inounx
Hey,
I will try to give some feedback, but keep in mind that I don’t master perfectly this grammar point !First, I find that the meaning “sometime during” and “sometime after” are confusing. There is no notion of occurence and repetition. The other meaning you use in the grammar page “every occurence of (A)” for ごとに and “leaving (A) between each occurence” for おきに seems much clearer.
I think that the new explanation is globally more understandable, but this part is still confusing for me :
We can just remember that おきに always has one job. It highlights that (B) occurs after or outside of (A). While ごとに highlights (B) happening within (A).
一秒おきに - The space is ‘one second’, so if おきに points to the beginning of the next second, the space is still only ‘one second’. Because おきに doesn’t care about where (B) happens within that next second, we assume straight away.
五年おきに - The space is ‘fi...
Asher
Will fix this. Could even change it to ‘with a gap of’ if that makes more sense (see diagram below)
Zaichiki
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