자주
ja-ju
자주 is about narrow gaps, not a count
The picture Dots marked in a tight row across a calendar, each one a short hop from the next. 자주 is dots packed close; 가끔 is dots scattered far apart.
Where the picture shows up in 자주
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footsteps close together
여기 자주 오세요?
yeo-gi ja-ju o-se-yo
Do you come here often?
The same shoe print overlapping itself many times on the shop's doorstep.
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advising repetition
손을 자주 씻으세요.
so-neul ja-ju ssi-seu-se-yo
Wash your hands often.
A pair of hands going back under the tap again and again through the day.
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breakdowns close together
이 프린터가 자주 고장 나요.
i peu-rin-teo-ga ja-ju go-jang na-yo
This printer breaks down all the time.
A repair log with red marks packed densely down the page.
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keeping the gap small
앞으로 자주 연락해요.
a-peu-ro ja-ju yeol-la-kae-yo
Let's keep in touch often.
A line traced over and over between two people until it thickens into a cord.
Very common as a parting phrase.
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a thing that recurs
그런 질문 자주 받아요.
geu-reon jil-mun ja-ju ba-da-yo
I get that question a lot.
Slips of paper with the same question on them, stacking up on the desk.
All of it in one picture
자주 says the gap between dots is short. Overlapping prints on the doorstep mean you come 자주; hands going back under the tap mean you wash 자주. A dense repair log means it breaks 자주, a line traced over and over means you keep in touch 자주, a stack of identical slips means you are asked 자주. It never counts the times for you — it only shows how little space is left between them.