<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <!DOCTYPE html> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xmlns:epub="http://www.idpf.org/2007/ops"> <head> <title>Comparing "changchang" and "jingchang"</title> <link href="../Styles/main.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"/> </head> <body> <h1>Comparing "changchang" and "jingchang"</h1> <p>Both 常常 (chángcháng) and 经常 (jīngcháng) express similar concepts, though using them properly requires attention to some small details.</p> <h2>Contents</h2> <div class="contents"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">1 Used as an Adverb </span></li> <ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">1.1 Structure </span></li> <li><span style="font-size: 20px;">1.2 Examples </span></li> </ul> <li><span style="font-size: 20px;">2 Used as an Adjective </span></li> <li><span style="font-size: 20px;">3 Negative Form </span></li> <li><span style="font-size: 20px;">4 See also </span></li> <li><span style="font-size: 20px;">5 Sources and further reading </span></li> <ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">5.1 Books</span></li> </ul> </ul> </div> <h2>Used as an Adverb</h2> <p>常常 and 经常 both can be used to express frequency, meaning "often," and that the time between each instance it happens is very short. In this case, they are interchangeable.</p> <h3>Structure</h3> <div class="deux">常常 / 经常 + Verb</div> <h3>Examples</h3> <div class="exemple"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">我 常常 收到 垃圾 短信 。 Wǒ chángcháng shōudào lājī duǎnxìn. I often receive junk messages. </span></li> <li><span style="font-size: 20px;">你们 经常 加班 吗 ？ Nǐmen jīngcháng jiābān ma? Do you often work late? </span></li> <li><span style="font-size: 20px;">他们 常常 吵架 。 Tāmen chángcháng chǎojià. They often fight.</span><br/></li> </ul> </div> <p>Note that 常常 or 经常 can't be placed before the subject:</p> <div class="exemple"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">常常 他 不 吃 早饭 。 Chángcháng tā bù chī zǎo fàn. </span></li> <li><span style="font-size: 20px;">他 经常 不 吃 早饭 。 Tā jīngcháng bù chī zǎo fàn. He often skips breakfast.</span><br/></li> </ul> </div> <p>Note that 常 is often used for future actions in colloquial Chinese.</p> <div class="exemple"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">常 来 玩 ！ Cháng lái wán! Come and hang out often! </span></li> <li><span style="font-size: 20px;">常 联系 ！ Cháng liánxì! Let's keep in touch!</span><br/></li> </ul> </div> <h2>Used as an Adjective</h2> <p>经常 can also be used as an adjective referring to things that happens very frequently, or you can use 经常性 instead. 常常 can't be used this way.</p> <h3>A few examples:</h3> <div class="exemple"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">她 忘 带 钥匙 是 经常 的 事情 。 Tā wàng dài yàoshi shì jīngcháng de shìqing. It's a regular thing for her to forget to bring her keys. </span></li> <li><span style="font-size: 20px;">他 经常性 地 迟到。 tā jīngchángxìng de chídào. He is often late.</span><br/></li> </ul> </div> <h2>Negative Form</h2> <p>经常 and 常常 can share the same negative form 不常. You can also simply use 不 to negate both 经常 and 常常, although 不常常 is not super common. </p> <h3>A few examples: </h3> <div class="exemple"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">他 不 常 抽烟 。 Tā bù cháng chōuyān. He doesn't smoke very often. </span></li> <li><span style="font-size: 20px;">我 妈妈 不 常 网购 。 Wǒ māma bù cháng wǎng gòu. My mother doesn't often shop online.</span><br/></li> </ul> </div> <h3>See also</h3> <div class="See-also"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Comparing "pingshi" and "pingchang"</span><br/></li> </ul> </div> <h3>Sources and further reading</h3> <h4>Books</h4> <div class="See-also"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">HSK Standard Course 5上 (pp. 119) →buy</span><br/></li> </ul> </div> </body> </html>