Page 318 - Basic Japanese

6.29. goto ni, oki ni

The expression goto ni is added to a noun or noun phrase to

give the meaning ‘every so many, each and every’: ni-jikan
goto ni ‘every two hours,’ san-nen goto ni ‘every three years.’

The expression oki ni (from the infinitive of oku ‘puts aside’)

means ‘regularly skipping’: ichi-nichi oki ni ‘every other day,’
san-gen oki ni ‘every fourth house.’

Akanbō ga umaretara, yonaka ni ni san-jikan goto ni
okosareta.
After the baby was born, I had to wake up every

2 to 3 hours at night.

San-kagetsu oki ni, enjin oiru o kōkan shimasu.
I change the engine oil every three months.

Is-shūkan goto ni keitai no jūden o shimasu.
I charge my cell phone every week.

6.30. Stores that end in ya

We can refer to some types of stores by a friendly term that

ends in ya. For example, bookstores are called either hon’ya
or shoten. The former sounds friendly, but the latter sounds

formal. In addition, -ya can also mean the person who is in

the profession in some instances.

hon’ya bookstore