Frequency Adverbs: 经常、重新、老是、又

Chinese grammar · HSK 2 · 频率副词 · By Carson 木林森

These adverbs go before the verb to modify how often or in what manner.

经常 jīng cháng frequently; constantly; regularly; often 重新 chóng xīn again; once more; re- 老是 lǎo shi always 又 yòu (once) again

经常 (jīng cháng) = often, regularly
重新 (chóng xīn) = again from the start, redo
老是 (lǎo shì) = always (slightly negative — complaint tone)
又 (yòu) = again (something happened again)

经常 vs 老是: Both mean 'often/always' but 老是 implies annoyance or complaint.
重新 vs 又: 重新 = start over from the beginning; 又 = the same thing happened one more time.

✅ 他经常来我家。(He often comes to my house.)
✅ 请你重新写一次。(Please write it again from the start.)

Worked examples

Chinese	Pinyin	English	What it shows
她经常在图书馆看书。	Tā jīng cháng zài tú shū guǎn kàn shū.	She often reads at the library.	经常 before verb shows regular/habitual action
这道题你做错了，请重新做一次。	Zhè dào tí nǐ zuò cuò le, qǐng chóng xīn zuò yī cì.	You got this question wrong — please do it again from the start.	重新 = redo from the beginning, not just 'one more time'
他老是迟到，老师很不高兴。	Tā lǎo shì chí dào, lǎo shī hěn bù gāo xìng.	He is always late; the teacher is very unhappy.	老是 implies repetitive behavior that the speaker finds problematic

Produce this pattern without stopping to think about it. GraphChinese drills Frequency Adverbs across 13 exercises and schedules the review that keeps it.

What you need first

Every topic in GraphChinese names its own prerequisites, and these are the grammar points this one is built on. If a sentence here will not parse, one of them is why.

Time Expressions as Adverbials

The same pattern at other levels

Frequency Adverbs — HSK 3

Frequency Adverbs is one topic of 829. GraphChinese teaches them in prerequisite order, so this pattern reaches you on the day everything it rests on is proven. The whole course, HSK 0 through HSK 6, is $49 once for lifetime access.

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