Differences between "何度も or 何度でも" and 何回も?


Things like 何度も and 何回も are somehow common. In what cases would there be
differences between the two? Are they the same differences between the plain 回
and 度? Thanks.




While there exists a large amount of interchangeability between 「[回]{かい}」 and
「[度]{ど}」, it is also true that in certain situations, only using one of the
two is either "correct" or "preferred" over the other.

> **_Interchangeable:_**

**_General frequency_** : "X has happened Y times.", "Person X has done
something Y times.", etc.

「この[冬]{ふゆ}、４回/度[雪]{ゆき}が[降]{ふ}った。」= "It snowed 4 times this winter."

「その[映画]{えいが}は2回/度[観]{み}ました。」= "I have seen the film twice."

> **_Not Interchangeable:_**

1) **_Ordinal numbers_**.

「[第]{だい}16 **回** XYZ[大学日本語弁論大会]{だいがくにほんごべんろんたいかい}」= "The 16th Annual XYZ
University Japanese Speech Contest". Using 「度」 here is incorrect.

2) **_Proverbs and sayings_**.

「二 **度** あることは三 **度** ある。」= "What happens twice will happen thrice." Using 「回」
here would be extremely weird.

「三 **度** [目]{め}の[正直]{しょうじき}」= "Third time lucky." 「回」 cannot be used.

3) **_Decimals_**.

「アメリカ[人]{じん}は[週平均]{しゅうへいきん}8.6 **回** ハンバーガーを[食]{た}べる。」= "On average, Americans
eat a hamburger 8.6 times a week." 「度」 should not be used with a decimal.

4) **_Larger numbers_**.

This is a strong tendency and certainly not a written rule, but we do not use
「度」 much when the number is "large". We would **_not_** say 「140度」 or 「3800度」.
We would use 「回」 for numbers that large.

(If you used 「140度」 or 「3800度」 out of context, native speakers would think,
without a fail, that you were talking about a temperature of something and not
a frequency -- "140 degrees Celcius", etc.)

There could be more cases where the two words are not interchangeable, but I
will leave it to the experts here.




While there exists a large amount of interchangeability between 「[回]{かい}」 and
「[度]{ど}」, it is also true that in certain situations, only using one of the
two is either "correct" or "preferred" over the other.

> **_Interchangeable:_**

**_General frequency_** : "X has happened Y times.", "Person X has done
something Y times.", etc.

「この[冬]{ふゆ}、４回/度[雪]{ゆき}が[降]{ふ}った。」= "It snowed 4 times this winter."

「その[映画]{えいが}は2回/度[観]{み}ました。」= "I have seen the film twice."

> **_Not Interchangeable:_**

1) **_Ordinal numbers_**.

「[第]{だい}16 **回** XYZ[大学日本語弁論大会]{だいがくにほんごべんろんたいかい}」= "The 16th Annual XYZ
University Japanese Speech Contest". Using 「度」 here is incorrect.

2) **_Proverbs and sayings_**.

「二 **度** あることは三 **度** ある。」= "What happens twice will happen thrice." Using 「回」
here would be extremely weird.

「三 **度** [目]{め}の[正直]{しょうじき}」= "Third time lucky." 「回」 cannot be used.

3) **_Decimals_**.

「アメリカ[人]{じん}は[週平均]{しゅうへいきん}8.6 **回** ハンバーガーを[食]{た}べる。」= "On average, Americans
eat a hamburger 8.6 times a week." 「度」 should not be used with a decimal.

4) **_Larger numbers_**.

This is a strong tendency and certainly not a written rule, but we do not use
「度」 much when the number is "large". We would **_not_** say 「140度」 or 「3800度」.
We would use 「回」 for numbers that large.

(If you used 「140度」 or 「3800度」 out of context, native speakers would think,
without a fail, that you were talking about a temperature of something and not
a frequency -- "140 degrees Celcius", etc.)

There could be more cases where the two words are not interchangeable, but I
will leave it to the experts here.

