Chinese word

常

Pronunciation

Pinyincháng

Meaning

  • adverboften

Example

我常去那家咖啡店。wǒ cháng qù nà jiā kā fēi diàn

I often go to that coffee shop.

Illustration for 常 (often)

More examples

周末他常去公园。zhōu mò tā cháng qù gōng yuán

He often goes to the park on weekends.

Core concept

A behavior returns as part of a normal pattern, often but not necessarily every time.

Common phrases

  • 常去cháng qù

    often go

  • 经常jīng cháng

    often

Similar words

经常jīng cháng: Shows that an action or event occurs frequently over time.
常常cháng cháng: Shows that an action or event occurs again and again in ordinary situations.

Definition in Chinese

用于表示行为或状态在时间上多次出现，强调一种常态或习惯性，程度上弱于“总是”，作副词通常位于动词之前。yòng yú biǎo shì xíng wéi huò zhuàng tài zài shí jiān shàng duō cì chū xiàn qiáng diào yì zhǒng cháng tài huò xí guàn xìng chéng dù shàng ruò yú zǒng shì zuò fù cí tōng cháng wèi yú dòng cí zhī qián

Word origin

常 (cháng, "regular") originally expressed what was normal or enduring, and its adverbial use extends that idea to actions that recur as part of a usual pattern.

Usage tips

  • 常 (cháng, "often") is weaker than English always, so it can describe a regular habit while still allowing exceptions.

Other meanings

  • alwaysadverb
  • repeatedlyadverb

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word