These German adverbs answer the question of how often something happens or is the case — Wie oft? Let's take a look at how to describe the most frequent to least frequent occurrences. 

First of all, we have immer, or "always." Like in English, there are different options for the placement of adverbs in German sentences. In this first sentence, the word einfach is also serving as an adverb, and both adverbs are placed after the verb. 

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Es ist einfach immer was los und man ist in einer halben Stunde hier oben.

There is simply always something going on and you are up here in half an hour.

Caption 20, 48 h in Innsbruck - Sehenswürdigkeiten & Tipps

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Meistens, häufig and oft describe a relatively common or frequent occurrence. Note that, in this particular example, meistens is in the first position with the verb immediately following, which gives it extra emphasis. In the other two examples, the adverb comes after the verb (although not the participle!). 

Meistens sind ja die Fenster dann auch noch recht schmal.

Most of the time, the windows are also really narrow.

Caption 57, Feuerwehr Heidelberg - Löschfahrzeug

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In Deutschland ist das Wetter im Herbst häufig kühl und feucht.

In Germany, the weather in autumn is frequently cool and damp.

Caption 6, Herbst - mit Eva

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Große Erfindungen werden oft von ungewöhnlichen Ereignissen inspiriert.

Great inventions are often inspired by unusual events.

Caption 3, 200. Geburtstag - Die Geschichte des Fahrrads in 2 Minuten

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From manchmal to selten, the frequency of something happening or being the case decreases rapidly.

Es ist nur manchmal einfach etwas schwierig, wenn man zusammenlebt und so gut befreundet ist.

It is just sometimes a bit difficult when you live together and are such good friends.

Caption 34, Die Wohngemeinschaft - Probleme

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Ab und zu kann es aber auch mal ganz schön laut werden.

Once in a while it can, however, get pretty loud too.

Caption 62, Rhein-Main-TV - Badesee Rodgau

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Seinen schicken Umhang trug er gar nicht mehr,

He no longer wore his chic cloak

und mit seinem Pferd ritt er nur noch selten.

and he rode his horse only rarely.

Captions 38-39, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Die Prinzessin auf der Erbse

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Finally, we come to "never." It is also possible to say fast nie or "almost never."

Also, früher wollt ich nie zum Klavierunterricht gehen.

Well, at the time I never wanted to go piano lessons.

Caption 35, Deutsche Bands - Glashaus

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Further Learning
Many examples of these words can be found on Yabla German, and you can also look up the following German adverbs of definite frequency: täglich, wöchentlich, monatlich, jährlich, morgens, nachmittags, and abends. For more information on adverb placement, take a look at this helpful page.

Irgendwie fängt irgendwann irgendwo die Zukunft an.

Somehow, somewhere the future begins sometime.

Caption 4, Nena - Irgendwie, irgendwo, irgendwann

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Again, we are happy to respond to a subscriber request! The lyrics above by German singer Nena are a good point of departure for a lesson on irgend, which as a prefix has a similar function to “some-” or “any-” in English. It is used to augment adverbs and pronouns to demonstrate a lack of specificity or information. 

Irgendwo is perhaps the simplest of these words, translating to “somewhere.”  

Du wirst bestimmt irgendwo am Strand sein. -Ja, genau. Am Meer.

You will surely be somewhere at the beach. -Yes, exactly. At the sea.

Caption 50, Konjugation - Das Verb „sein“

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Irgendwie translates to “somehow,” but is also used in spoken German to express “in some way,” “in any way,” or even “sort of.”

Irgendwie muss man ihr ja helfen.

Somehow she has to indeed be helped.

Caption 5, Die Pfefferkörner - Gerüchteküche

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The adverb irgendwann covers the English phrases “someday,” “sometime,” or “at some point,” which means it can refer to a non-specific time in either the past or the future. 

Aber irgendwann, als man mich nicht mehr gezwungen hat,

But at some point, when I wasn't forced to anymore

hab ich dann meine persönliche Liebe zur Musik entdeckt.

I discovered my own love for music.

Captions 36-37, Deutsche Bands - Glashaus

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But let’s not stop here! You have also probably seen irgendein and irgendwelche, which translate to “any” or “some.” The important thing to remember is that they behave similarly to adjectives and will always have the appropriate ending based on the conditions of the sentence. As you might guess, irgendein is never used in the plural.

Nun, wenn Sie irgendwelche Fragen haben:

So, if you have any questions,

Ich werde in meinem Büro sein.

I will be in my office.

Caption 49, Berufsleben - das Vorstellungsgespräch

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Haben Sie den Namen von irgendeiner Autovermietung?

Do you have the name of any car rental [company]?

Caption 16, Reiseplanung - Anruf bei einem Reisebüro

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For the pronoun “someone” or “somebody,” it is common to see both irgendwer and irgendjemand. 

Irgendjemand kocht Kaffee In der Luftaufsichtsbaracke.

Someone is making coffee In the air traffic control hut.

Captions 29-30, Reinhard Mey - Über den Wolken

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You may also have seen irgendwas and irgendetwas. These are more or less synonyms, which are even less specific than etwas (“something”) and are usually translated as “anything.”

Sagen Sie mir Bescheid, wenn ich irgendetwas tun kann.

Tell me if I can do anything.

Caption 58, Berufsleben - Probleme mit Mitarbeitern

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Further Learning
There are a myriad of examples on Yabla German where you can see these words in use. Make sure you understand the declensions required for irgendein and irgendwelche. Irgendjemand and irgendwer also sometimes require a different ending — can you figure out when this might occur?