selten

Selten is a German adverb meaning not often, rarely, or seldom. It denotes a low frequency of an action, event, or state. In ordinary sentences it usually precedes the finite verb, as in Ich sehe ihn selten. It can also be placed at the beginning of a clause for emphasis: Selten habe ich so etwas gesehen. The word commonly appears with verbs and clauses to express infrequent occurrence and can interact with negation or intensifiers.

As an adjective, sel­ten shares the same root and is used to describe nouns in attributive position, for example eine seltene Gelegenheit. The adverbial form, however, remains primarily used to modify verbs or entire clauses rather than nouns.

Etymology and cognates: Selten is cognate with Dutch zelden and English seldom, all tracing back to Proto-Germanic roots related to rarity. The term has been part of standard German since the Middle Ages and remains common in both speech and writing.

Usage notes: Use sel­ten to express that something happens infrequently, with a stronger nuance of rarity than gelegentlich (occasionally) and a softer tone than fast nie (almost never). In formal writing, it carries the same meaning as in everyday speech and is widely understood across registers. Common collocations include verbs of occurrence and phrases describing frequency, making sel­ten a versatile marker of infrequency in German.