<blockquote>
<p>他每年一次回家 seems more appropriate to me</p>
</blockquote>
<p>No, the [counting word] 一次 has to go after the verb</p>
<p>It has to be [回家(v) + 一次 (counting word)] or [回(v)+ 一次(counting word) + 家(object)]</p>
<p>The difference between 回家一次 and 回一次家:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>回家一次 treats 回家 (go home) as a single word and 一次 as a counting word that counts the verb 回家</p>
</li>
<li><p>回一次家 treats 回 (return) as a verb, 家 (home) as an object, and 一次 as a counting word that counts the verb 回</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>In both cases, the counting word follows the verb</p>
<blockquote>
<p>He goes home once a year</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Both <strong>他每年回家一次</strong> and <strong>他每年回一次家</strong> are correct translations</p>
<p>Other examples of a counting word following a verb:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>[駕車][一小時] (drive one hour) --&gt; [verb] + [counting word]</p>
</li>
<li><p>[駕][一小時][車] (drive one hour car) --&gt; [verb] + [counting word] + [object]</p>
</li>
<li><p>[一小時][駕車] (one-hour drive) is ungrammatical in Chinese, the same as 一次回家</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>Notice: 一小時駕駛 (one-hour drive) is grammatical because 駕駛 can be treated as a noun</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-05T04:54:09.937Z
Addition: the difference between 回家一次 and 回一次家 is that the former sounds ever so slightly more formal than the latter.
L. F.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-03T06:28:23.967Z
2022-09-04T06:09:10.223Z
2022-09-04T06:09:10.223Z
Tang Ho
<p>I'm trying to say, &quot;He goes home once a year&quot;. However, I struggle with the correct placement of <code>一次</code> in a sentence. I somewhere saw <code>他每年回一次家</code>, which seems strange to me, is this order correct? <code>他每年一次回家</code> seems more appropriate to me.</p>

<translation>
Trying to say "He goes home once a year"
# Trying to say "He goes home once a year"

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-09-03)

I'm trying to say, "He goes home once a year". However, I struggle with the correct placement of `一次` in a sentence. I somewhere saw `他每年回一次家`, which seems strange to me, is this order correct? `他每年一次回家` seems more appropriate to me.

**Tags:** translation


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2022-09-03. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

> 他每年一次回家 seems more appropriate to me

No, the [counting word] 一次 has to go after the verb

It has to be [回家(v) + 一次 (counting word)] or [回(v)+ 一次(counting word) + 家(object)]

The difference between 回家一次 and 回一次家:

* 回家一次 treats 回家 (go home) as a single word and 一次 as a counting word that counts the verb 回家
* 回一次家 treats 回 (return) as a verb, 家 (home) as an object, and 一次 as a counting word that counts the verb 回

In both cases, the counting word follows the verb

> He goes home once a year

Both **他每年回家一次** and **他每年回一次家** are correct translations

Other examples of a counting word following a verb:

* [駕車][一小時] (drive one hour) --> [verb] + [counting word]
* [駕][一小時][車] (drive one hour car) --> [verb] + [counting word] + [object]
* [一小時][駕車] (one-hour drive) is ungrammatical in Chinese, the same as 一次回家

Notice: 一小時駕駛 (one-hour drive) is grammatical because 駕駛 can be treated as a noun

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: Addition: the difference between 回家一次 and 回一次家 is that the former sounds ever so slightly more formal than the latter.  

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