常 (cháng) is a Chinese character meaning “often”. It is written from 尚 (still; yet; to esteem) and 巾 (cloth), one above the other, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “often; ordinary”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
尚 + 巾
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 常，下帬也。从巾，尚声
Memory aid
A cloth (巾) hangs beneath 尚 (still). It is still hanging there day after day — something you see often, the usual thing.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 非常fēi chángvery; extremely常 = cháng
- 常识cháng shícommon sense; general knowledge常 = cháng
Go deeper
All readings
often; ordinary
often; frequently; ordinary; common; constant
时常、经常；也指一般的、普通的，或长久不变的。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 非常fēi chángvery; extremely常 = cháng
- 常识cháng shícommon sense; general knowledge常 = cháng
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 常 mean?
常 (cháng) means often; frequently; ordinary; common; constant.
How do you pronounce 常?
It is pronounced cháng.
What parts is 常 made of?
尚 (still; yet; to esteem) and 巾 (cloth), one above the other. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 常，下帬也。从巾，尚声. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 常 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 常?
巾. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 常?
Common ones are 非常 and 常识. The reading of 常 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.