Learn Chinese Characters

Meaning

always; ever; often; frequently; common; general

Chinese: 经常、普通。

Hear the Four Tones

The same syllable “chang” becomes a different word in each tone. 常 is the 2nd tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.

Stroke Order

Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.

Common Words

  • 非常fēi chángvery; really; unusual; extraordinary
  • 常常cháng chángfrequently; often
  • 正常zhèng chángnormal; regular
  • 经常jīng chángfrequently; constantly; regularly; often
  • 平常píng chángordinary; common; usually; ordinarily

Example Sentence

我常常去图书馆看书。Wǒ cháng cháng qù tú shū guǎn kàn shū.I often go to the library to read.

I常常cháng chángfrequentlyto go图书馆tú shū guǎnlibrary看书kàn shūto read

Go deeper

Where this character comes from

尚 (sound) over 巾 (cloth): originally a long banner/skirt. It came to mean ‘constant, regular, ordinary; often, frequently; common’ (常常, 平常, 正常).

A way to remember it

‘Constant / often / ordinary’: 常常 (often), 平常 (usual).