Dictionary › 常

常

cháng

Old HSK 2 HSK 3.0 character level 1 Character

常 (cháng) means "always; ever; often". It is an HSK 3.0 level 3 word, and was HSK 2 in the old six-level list.

What 常 means

1. always
2. ever
3. often
4. frequently
5. common
6. general
7. constant

Other readings

常 is 多音字 — it is read more than one way, and the reading changes the meaning.

• Chángsurname Chang

Example sentences

• 非常冷。
  It's very cold.
• 非常好！
  Well done!
• 很正常。
  That's normal.
• 知足常乐。
  Zhīzúchánglè.
  Happy is the man who is contented.
• 非常感谢！
  Thank you very much!
• 我非常胖。
  I'm very fat.

Words starting with 常

• 常常cháng chángfrequently; often
• 常识cháng shícommon sense; general knowledge
• 常年cháng niánall year round; for years on end; average year
• 常务cháng wùroutine; everyday business; daily operation (of a company)
• 常见cháng jiàncommonly seen; common; to see sth frequently
• 常用cháng yòngin common usage
• 常人cháng rénordinary person
• 常规cháng guīcode of conduct; conventions; common practice; routine (medical procedure etc)
• 常委cháng wěistanding committee (abbr. for 常务委员会; member of the standing committee (abbr. for 常务委员
• 常客cháng kèfrequent visitor; fig. sth that crops up frequently
• 常态cháng tàinormal state
• 常住cháng zhùlong-term resident; permanent residence; eternalism…
• 常理cháng lǐcommon sense; conventional reasoning and morals
• 常驻cháng zhùresident; permanent (representative)
• 常委会cháng wěi huìstanding committee
• 常青cháng qīngevergreen
• 常设cháng shè(of an organization etc) standing or permanent
• 常任理事国cháng rèn lǐ shì guópermanent member state (of the UN Security Council)
• 常规赛cháng guī sài(sports) regular season
• 常言cháng yáncommon saying
• 常州市Cháng zhōu ShìChangzhou, prefecture-level city in Jiangsu Province 江苏省
• 常绿cháng lǜevergreen
• 常数cháng shù(math) a constant
• 常任cháng rènpermanent

Words containing 常

• 非常fēi chángvery; really; unusual; extraordinary
• 经常jīng chángfrequently; constantly; regularly; often; day-to-day; everyday; daily
• 正常zhèng chángnormal; regular
• 通常tōng chángregular; usual; normal; usually; normally
• 平常píng chángordinary; common; usually
• 日常rì chángday-to-day; daily; everyday
• 照常zhào chángas usual
• 异常yì chángunusual; abnormal; extremely; exceptionally
• 时常shí chángoften; frequently
• 往常wǎng chángusual; customary
• 家常jiā chángthe daily life of a family
• 反常fǎn chángunusual; abnormal
• 知足常乐zhī zú cháng lèsatisfied with what one has (idiom)
• 寻常xún chángusual; common; ordinary
• 无常wú chángvariable; changeable; fickle
• 习以为常xí yǐ wéi chángaccustomed to; used to
• 家常便饭jiā cháng biàn fànsimple home-style meal; common occurrence; nothing out of the ordinary
• 超常chāo chángexceptional; well above average; supernatural; paranormal
• 不同寻常bù tóng xún chángout of the ordinary; unusual
• 失常shī chángnot normal; an aberration
• 家常菜jiā cháng càihome cooking
• 平常心píng cháng xīnlevelheadedness; calmness; equanimity
• 如常rú chángas usual
• 非同寻常fēi tóng xún cháng(idiom) extraordinary

Characters that look like 常

Easy to confuse on sight. Compare them side by side once and the pair stops costing you.

• 掌zhǎngpalm of the hand; sole of the foot; paw
• 紫zǐpurple; violet
• 雳lìused in 霹雳
• 莺yīngoriole or various birds of the Sylvidae family including warblers
• 萦yíng(literary) to wind around
• 棠tángcherry-apple

Sounds the same

Read cháng, tone for tone, but written differently.

• 长long; (bound form) length; (bound form) strong point; forte
• 尝to taste; to try (food); to experience; (literary) ever; once
• 偿to repay; to compensate for; to recompense
• 肠intestines
• 倘used in 倘佯
• 裳lower garment; skirts; petticoats
• 苌plant mentioned in Book of Songs, uncertainly identified as carambola or star fruit…
• 场threshing floor; classifier for events and happenings: spell, episode, bout
• 徜sit cross-legged; walk back and forth
• 嫦used in 嫦娥; used in female given names
• 镸"long" or "to grow" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 168)
• 鲿Bagridae (catfish family)

Where 常 is taught

In the GraphChinese course it is part of HSK 2 Characters · Set 7 (HSK 2), each one a topic in the dependency graph of HSK 1–6 that opens only once its prerequisites are solid.

Go deeper

• Every HSK 2 word, with the rest of its level.
• How characters are built from components.
• How to learn Chinese characters.
• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read cháng correctly.
• Look up another word in the free dictionary.