'有时' (yǒu shí) is an adverb meaning 'sometimes' — indicating that something happens occasionally, not always or never. Literally, it combines '有' (yǒu), meaning 'to have' or 'there is', and '时' (shí), meaning 'time'. Together, they convey the idea of 'there being times when...' — a compact, idiomatic way to express frequency in Mandarin. It’s neutral in register and widely used in both spoken and written Chinese.

This adverb typically appears at the beginning of a clause or before the verb, similar to English 'sometimes'. It implies irregularity or unpredictability in occurrence — for example, weather changes, mood fluctuations, or intermittent habits. Unlike more formal alternatives like '偶尔' (ǒu'ěr), '有时' feels natural in everyday conversation and carries no strong emotional connotation. It pairs well with verbs, adjectives, and stative predicates, but never modifies nouns directly.