de vez en cuando
adverbCEFR B1High frequency
What does “de vez en cuando” mean in English?
from time to time, occasionally
from time to time, occasionally (low-frequency habitual marker)
Example sentences
De vez en cuando visito a mis padres en el pueblo, aunque me gustaría poder ir más a menudo si el trabajo me lo permitiera.
I visit my parents in the village from time to time, although I would like to be able to go more often if work allowed it.
He estado de vez en cuando en ese café desde que lo abrieron, pero nunca he probado el menú del día.
I have been to that café from time to time since it opened, but I have never tried the daily menu.
How to use it
De vez en cuando means 'from time to time' or 'occasionally' and sits lower on the frequency scale than a menudo. It is a multi-word adverbial phrase that is positionally flexible — it can open the sentence, close it, or appear mid-clause after the verb. It commonly pairs with the present indicative for current occasional habits and the present perfect for accumulated experience: 'de vez en cuando he viajado a...'. In planning contexts it often contrasts with a menudo to calibrate how regularly something will happen: 'me gustaría ir a menudo, pero de vez en cuando ya es algo'.
Common mistake
Learners sometimes conflate de vez en cuando (occasional, low-frequency) with a veces (sometimes — mid-frequency) or confuse it with nunca (never). It occupies the 'occasionally / not very often but not never' slot on the frequency scale. Do not substitute it where a menudo (often) is meant.