Meaning of 常
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- always
- ever
- often
- frequently
- common
- general
- constant
- surname Chang
How to use 常
As an adverb, 常 means often. It sounds a bit more written or compact than 常常 (chángcháng) or 经常 (jīngcháng), which are more common in everyday speech. It also appears in many words meaning common or normal, like 正常 (zhèngcháng) and 常见 (cháng jiàn). Example: 他常来这里。(Tā cháng lái zhèlǐ.) He often comes here.
常 (cháng) has 巾 (jīn, cloth) at the bottom with a roof-like top. Picture a piece of cloth you wear every day, something you use often and always.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 常 with 党 (dǎng, party), which has a similar top but 儿 at the bottom instead of 巾. Another trap is thinking 非常 (fēicháng) means "not often". It actually means "very", as in 非常好 (fēicháng hǎo, very good).
常 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
常 cháng · always · 11 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 常.
| 非常 | fēicháng | very; really; unusual; extraordinary |
| 常常 | chángcháng | frequently; often |
| 正常 | zhèngcháng | normal; regular |
| 经常 | jīngcháng | frequently; constantly; regularly; often; day-to-day; everyday; daily |
| 平常 | píngcháng | ordinary; common |
| 常见 | cháng jiàn | commonly seen; common |
| 常用 | cháng yòng | in common usage |
| 通常 | tōngcháng | regular; usual; normal; usually; normally |
| 日常 | rìcháng | day-to-day; daily; everyday |
| 常识 | chángshí | common sense; general knowledge |
| 时常 | shícháng | often; frequently |
| 异常 | yìcháng | unusual; abnormal; extremely; exceptionally |
Questions about 常
What does 常 mean?
常 (cháng) means "always; ever" and is used as a adverb.
How do you write 常?
常 is made of 1 character: 常 (11 strokes). That is 11 strokes in total.
Is 常 an HSK word?
Yes. 常 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 常常 and 经常?
Both mean often and are mostly interchangeable. 经常 can also be an adjective meaning regular or day-to-day, as in 经常性的工作 (regular work). In the negative, people usually say 不常 (bù cháng) rather than 不常常.
Is 常 the same as 长 (cháng)?
No. They share the same pronunciation, but 长 means long, while 常 means often or common. Mixing them up is a common typing error when using pinyin input.