Difference between ときがある and ことがある


Someone just asked me the difference between 「ことがある」(when it means "there are
times when") and 「ときがある」, and I actually couldn't answer since I have never
really thought about this...

Could someone teach me the nuance between those two? thanks.




I am going to discuss two things that I feel might be of interest.

> 1) Explicit Meaning
>
> 2) Implied Frequency & Predictability

The differences are quite subtle. In fact, unless your friend is really
approaching a native-level fluency, I might just show him/her @choco's answer
and hide my own. Showing my answer could cause more confusion.

> **_Explicit Meaning:_**

The difference is that while the expression 「 **とき** がある」 already contains a
time/frequency word in 「とき」, 「 **こと** がある」 does not contain such an element at
least explicitly.

In other words, 「～～ **とき** がある」, all by itself, means " ** _there are times
when ~~_**.", " ** _(Something) happens once in a while_**.", etc. just like
one might expect the expression to literally mean. **An additional frequency
word would often be unnecessary** , if not forbidden. If I said:

> 「 **ときどき** 食べすぎる **とき** がある。」,

the redundancy should be "physically" clear. (I assure you, though, that
native speakers sometimes do say something like that in informal settings.)

With 「 **こと** がある」, however, it would actually sound better if you
intentionally added a frequency word to it for clarity.

> 「 **ときどき** 食べすぎる **こと** がある。」

sounds 100% natural with no redundancy or a hint of awkwardness.

> **_Implied Frequency & Predictability:_**

This is in no way a clear-cut rule or anything, but I feel as a native speaker
that「 **とき** がある」 would often tend to imply a higher frequency of the event
than 「 **こと** がある」 would.

In addition, 「 **こと** がある」 would tend to express a higher degree of
**_unpredictability_** of the event than 「 **とき** がある」 would. There is this
"as-a-matter-of-fact" kind of feeling associated with 「 **とき** がある」.

There is a sort of an "element of surprise" expressed in 「 **こと** がある」, at
least more so than in 「 **とき** がある」.




I am going to discuss two things that I feel might be of interest.

> 1) Explicit Meaning
>
> 2) Implied Frequency & Predictability

The differences are quite subtle. In fact, unless your friend is really
approaching a native-level fluency, I might just show him/her @choco's answer
and hide my own. Showing my answer could cause more confusion.

> **_Explicit Meaning:_**

The difference is that while the expression 「 **とき** がある」 already contains a
time/frequency word in 「とき」, 「 **こと** がある」 does not contain such an element at
least explicitly.

In other words, 「～～ **とき** がある」, all by itself, means " ** _there are times
when ~~_**.", " ** _(Something) happens once in a while_**.", etc. just like
one might expect the expression to literally mean. **An additional frequency
word would often be unnecessary** , if not forbidden. If I said:

> 「 **ときどき** 食べすぎる **とき** がある。」,

the redundancy should be "physically" clear. (I assure you, though, that
native speakers sometimes do say something like that in informal settings.)

With 「 **こと** がある」, however, it would actually sound better if you
intentionally added a frequency word to it for clarity.

> 「 **ときどき** 食べすぎる **こと** がある。」

sounds 100% natural with no redundancy or a hint of awkwardness.

> **_Implied Frequency & Predictability:_**

This is in no way a clear-cut rule or anything, but I feel as a native speaker
that「 **とき** がある」 would often tend to imply a higher frequency of the event
than 「 **こと** がある」 would.

In addition, 「 **こと** がある」 would tend to express a higher degree of
**_unpredictability_** of the event than 「 **とき** がある」 would. There is this
"as-a-matter-of-fact" kind of feeling associated with 「 **とき** がある」.

There is a sort of an "element of surprise" expressed in 「 **こと** がある」, at
least more so than in 「 **とき** がある」.

