What has four letters occasionally has 12 letters always has six letters but never has five letters and sometimes has nine letters

The answer to this riddle is "what". "What" has four letters, "occasionally" has 12 letters, "always" has six letters, "never" does not have five letters, and "sometimes" has nine letters.

The word you are looking for is "what."

Explanation:
- "What" is a four-letter word.
- The word "occasionally" has 12 letters.
- The word "always" has six letters.
- The word "never" has five letters. However, it is not present in the sentence.
- Lastly, the word "sometimes" has nine letters.

To find the answer to this riddle, let's break it down and analyze each statement.

Statement 1: "What has four letters"

This statement is a question itself, which means the answer is a word with four letters. It could be any word that has exactly four letters, such as "love," "home," or "life." Since the riddle asks for a specific answer, we need to consider the other statements as well.

Statement 2: "Occasionally has 12 letters"

This statement suggests that the word we are looking for sometimes has 12 letters. This implies that the word being referred to can change in length under certain circumstances. So, we need to find a word that can have different lengths based on the situation.

Statement 3: "Always has six letters"

This statement contradicts the previous one by stating that the word always has six letters. This means that there is a specific six-letter word we are searching for. So, we need to find a word that satisfies both this statement and the previous one.

Statement 4: "But never has five letters"

Here, it is stated that the word we are looking for never has five letters. This statement eliminates any five-letter words from our list of potential answers.

Statement 5: "And sometimes has nine letters"

This final statement adds another layer of complexity. It states that the word can sometimes have nine letters. So, the word we are searching for must have situations in which it has both six and nine letters, in addition to being a four-letter word.

Putting all these statements together, we can deduce that the answer to the riddle is the word "what."

- It has four letters.
- "What" can occasionally have 12 letters if used in questions like: "Whatsoever," "Whatsoeverly," etc.
- It always has six letters because it is spelled "what."
- It never has five letters because it has four.
- And lastly, "what" can sometimes have nine letters when it is used in phrases like "whatsoever" or "whatever."

So, by carefully analyzing each statement and considering their implications, we determine that the answer to the riddle is the word "what."