Learn English – ny word to describe things we do regularly over and over again

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For example, when in our daily life we go to school, do homework, go to the gym and then go to sleep, but all these things we do for a whole week. Repetitive things.

Another example would be when two lovers spend too much time together, and fall into a pattern of always doing the same things over and over; nothing appears to change.

Is there a word to describe this?

Life is repetitive.

Is that correct?

Best Answer

Sure, you can say life is repetitive. There's nothing wrong with that. It does sound like a general statement, though, and not a description of specific things we do over and over again.

So how do we describe things we do regularly, over and over again?

  • You can talk about your daily routine. That means something you do every day, though you can also use it to describe things you do only on weekdays, in which case you might say weekday daily routine or daily routine on weekdays. (Some people skip over this detail and just say daily routine.)
  • You can also talk about your habits. Do you make it a habit to clean for ten minutes every day after you get home from work? Then you can use that word. If you don't exactly form the habits on purpose, then you might say you're falling into a routine. And any activity you engage in on a regular basis can be called habitual. Of course, habits can refer to both good habits, like brushing your teeth regularly, and bad habits, like smoking.
  • If you're getting bored of doing the same things every day, you might describe it as tedious, or as a noun, tedium, as in the tedium of daily life. You might say that things are getting old, or that you're getting tired of doing the same things day in and day out. If you really want to change, you might say that it seems like your life is standing still, but you want to move forward. (This, of course, is a metaphor.)
  • Another good alternative, suggested by Mistu4u, is monotonous. This word usually has a negative connotation, much like boring or repetitive. You can say that your life has become monotonous, or if you like the "life is..." formulation you started with, it certainly works there, too: Life is monotonous. Again, that would sound like a general statement about life, though you can apply the word to individual activities: Work has been so monotonous lately.

Of course, there are a lot of ways to talk about things like these, so I suggest you wait around to see if anyone else posts an answer :-) They might have a term or a phrase that you like better.

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