めったに～ない

About

めったに is an adverb that means "rarely; seldom", and pairs with a negative verb to express that someone "rarely does X".

E.g. 外食がいしょくはめったにしない。 "I hardly ever eat out."

E.g. 半田はんださんはめったに怒おこりません。 "Mr. Handa hardly ever gets mad."

E.g. 東京とうきょうでは、めったに雪ゆきは降ふらないです。 "In Tokyo, it hardly ever snows."

めったに ("rarely; seldom") derives from the な-adjective 「滅多めった」(literally "destroy" + "frequent") plus the に particle, and will pair with a negative verb 99% of the time.

Summary

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  めったに is an adverb that means "rarely; seldom"

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  めったに pairs with negative verbs to express that someone "rarely does X"