An elegant alternative to raramente (rarely)

You might already know the adjective raro and the adverb raramente. These are true cognates of "rare" and "rarely" in English. 

But there is another way to say this. Let's look at a couple of passages from a recent segment of  Provaci ancora prof!

Semmai, ogni tanto prendere qualche sonnifero per dormire, ma insomma, raramente.

If anything, every now and then he takes some sleeping pills to sleep, but well, rarely.

Captions 35-36, Provaci ancora prof! S2E6 La strana ossessione - Part 5

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Camilla is talking to the doctor upstairs about sleeping pills. She pretends it's about Renzo.  

Se proprio è una nottataccia due, ma, insomma, di rado, come Le ho detto.

If it's really a bad night, two, but, well, rarely, as I told you.

Captions 42-43, Provaci ancora prof! S2E6 La strana ossessione - Part 5

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He takes up her wording to comment:  

Gli impedisca di prenderli, signora, anche di rado.

Stop him from taking them ma'am, even rarely.

Captions 44-45, Provaci ancora prof! S2E6 La strana ossessione - Part 5

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Interestingly, the adjective rado is used to mean "sparse," especially when talking about physical distance, such as, for example, between plants in a garden. In the present context, we are talking about distancing in time. 

Here's another example of di rado. Yabla offers a documentary, produced by RAI about the important Italian post-war chef, Gualtiero Marchesi, who died in 2017. He was a pioneer of modern Italian cuisine. The documentary, which appeared in episodes on Italian TV, opens with what must be a passage from his own writings, narrated by someone who spee

Qui sono cresciuto, tra queste terre e queste acque. Tornando, ahimè sempre più di rado, mi sembra di riconoscere scorci e luoghi come se poco o nulla fosse cambiato.

I grew up here, in the midst of these lands and these waters. Coming back more and more infrequently, alas, I think I recognize views and places, as if little or nothing had changed.

Captions 12-15, L'arte della cucina Terre d'Acqua - Part 1

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And the adjective rado calls to mind the verb radere (to shave). It's also the first-person singular of this irregular verb.