Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

常 (radical 50 巾+8, 11 strokes, cangjie input 火月口中月 (FBRLB), four-corner 9022₇, composition ⿱⿱龸口巾)

1. common, normal, frequent, regular, often
2. a Chinese surname

References

• KangXi: page 333, character 12
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 8955
• Dae Jaweon: page 639, character 13
• Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 1, page 744, character 1
• Unihan data for U+5E38

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Chinese

simp. and trad.		常

Glyph origin

Characters in the same phonetic series (尚) (Zhengzhang, 2003)
	Old Chinese
當	*taːŋ, *taːŋs
襠	*taːŋ
鐺	*taːŋ, *sʰraːŋ
簹	*taːŋ
璫	*taːŋ
檔	*taːŋ, *taːŋs
儅	*taːŋ, *taːŋs
蟷	*taːŋ
擋	*taːŋʔ, *taːŋs
黨	*taːŋʔ, *tʰaːŋʔ
讜	*taːŋʔ
欓	*taːŋʔ
譡	*taːŋs
闣	*taːŋs
瓽	*taːŋs
鏜	*tʰaːŋ
闛	*tʰaːŋ, *daːŋ
鼞	*tʰaːŋ
曭	*tʰaːŋʔ
儻	*tʰaːŋʔ, *tʰaːŋs
戃	*tʰaːŋʔ
矘	*tʰaːŋʔ
爣	*tʰaːŋʔ
攩	*hl'aːŋʔ, *ɦʷlaːŋʔ, *ɦʷlaːŋs
淌	*tʰaːŋʔ
倘	*tʰaːŋʔ
躺	*tʰaːŋʔ
趟	*tʰaːŋs, *rtaːŋ, *rtaːŋs
堂	*daːŋ
坣	*daːŋ
棠	*daːŋ
糛	*daːŋ
螳	*daːŋ
隚	*daːŋ
橖	*daːŋ
掌	*tjaŋʔ
廠	*tʰjaŋʔ, *tʰjaŋs
敞	*tʰjaŋʔ
僘	*tʰjaŋʔ
氅	*tʰjaŋʔ
常	*djaŋ
嘗	*djaŋ
裳	*djaŋ
徜	*djaŋ
尚	*djaŋ, *djaŋs
甞	*djaŋ
鋿	*djaŋ
嫦	*djaŋ
償	*djaŋ, *djaŋs
賞	*hjaŋʔ
瞠	*rtʰaːŋ
撐	*rtʰaːŋ
樘	*rtʰaːŋ
橕	*rtʰaːŋ
牚	*rtʰaːŋs
埫	*tʰoŋʔ

Phono-semantic compound (形聲, OC *djaŋ) : phonetic 尚 ‎(OC *djaŋ, *djaŋs) + semantic 巾 ‎(“turban”).

Pronunciation

Definitions

常

1. common; general; normal
2. constant; invariable
3. often; frequently
4. A surname​.

Compounds

References

• “Query for 常”, in 臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Minnan], Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2011.

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Japanese

Kanji

(grade 5 “Kyōiku” kanji)

Readings

• Goon: じょう (jō), (historical) じやう (jau)
• Kan’on: しょう (shō) (non-Jōyō reading), (historical) しやう (shau)
• Kun: きだ (kida), つね (tsune), とこ (toko), とことわ (tokotowa), とわ (towa)
• Nanori: のぶ (nobu), ひ (hi), ひた (hita), とき (toki)

Compounds

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
常
じょう Grade: 5
on'yomi

/d͡ʑau/ → /d͡ʑɔː/ → /d͡ʑoː/

From Middle Chinese 常 ‎(dzyang, “constant”).

Pronunciation

• On'yomi: Goon
• (Tokyo) じょ​う [jóꜜò] (Atamadaka - [1])
• IPA^(key): [d͡ʑo̞ː]

Adverb

常 ‎(hiragana じょう, romaji jō, historical hiragana じやう)

1. (obsolete) always, constantly, consistently

Noun

常 ‎(hiragana じょう, romaji jō, historical hiragana じやう)

1. a traditional Japanese unit of length, equal to one 丈 ‎(jō, roughly three meters) and three 尺 ‎(shaku, roughly one foot or thirty centimeters)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
常
きだ Grade: 5
kun'yomi

Cognate with root kiza in 刻む ‎(kizamu, “to mince; to slice; to cut a thing into pieces; to groove, to nick, to notch”).^[1]

Also sometimes read as kita.

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• IPA^(key): [kʲida̠]

Alternative forms

• 段

Noun

常 ‎(hiragana きだ, romaji kida, alternative reading きた, romaji kita)

1. (obsolete) a traditional Japanese unit of measure for the length of cut cloth
2. (obsolete) a traditional Japanese unit of measure for the area of an agricultural field or paddy

Counter

常 ‎(hiragana きだ, romaji -kida)

1. counter for cuts or strips of something

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
常
つね Grade: 5
kun'yomi

From Old Japanese. Appears in the Man'yōshū, compiled around 759 CE.^[1] May be cognate with 綱 ‎(tsuna, “thick rope; binding”), with underlying ideas of connection, continuance.

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• (Tokyo) つ​ね [tsúꜜnè] (Atamadaka - [1])^[2]
• IPA^(key): [t͡sɯ̃ᵝne̞]

Alternative forms

• 恒

Adjective

常 ‎(-na inflection, hiragana つね, romaji tsune)

1. (obsolete) eternal, permanent, consistent
2. (obsolete) normal, everyday, regular, usual, ordinary

Usage notes

This appears as an adjective in older texts with the classical attributive form tsune naru. When used attributively in modern Japanese, this term is used with the particle の ‎(no) instead:

• 常 (つね)の人 (ひと)

  tsune no hito

  everyday people, regular people

Modern Japanese does still use this term as an adverb, with particle に ‎(ni):

• このカメラは常 (つね)にオンになっている。

  Kono kamera wa tsune ni on ni natte iru.

  This camera is always on.

• あの会社 (かいしゃ)はサービスが常 (つね)に悪 (わる)い。

  Ano kaisha wa sābisu ga tsune ni warui.

  That company has consistently bad service.

Synonyms

(normal, usual):

• 普段 (ふだん) ‎(fudan)
• 普通 (ふつう) ‎(futsū)
• 平素 (へいそ) ‎(heiso)

Noun

常 ‎(hiragana つね, romaji tsune)

1. constancy, continuance
2. the ordinary, the everyday

Etymology 4

Kanji in this term
常
とこ Grade: 5
kun'yomi

From Old Japanese. Possibly cognate with 時 ‎(toki, “time”).

The way the term is used in the historical record suggests that this was originally a noun. By the time of written Japanese, however, this term only appears in compounds, never on its own, and its usage is more as an adjective to modify other nouns.

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• IPA^(key): [to̞ko̞]

Prefix

常 ‎(hiragana とこ, romaji toko-)

1. eternal, forever, unchanging, everlasting

Usage notes

Only used in compounds. Attaches to nouns and other nominals, often (but not always) with the now-obsolete possessive particle つ ‎(tsu).

• 常 (とこ)つ御門 (みかど)、常 (とこ)夏 (なつ)、常 (とこ)とわ

  toko tsu mikado, tokonatsu, tokotowa

  the eternal palace, eternal summer, eternal permanence [→ eternity]

Derived terms

Etymology 5

Kanji in this term
常
とことわ Grade: 5
kun'yomi

/tokotoba/ → /tokotowa/

From Old Japanese. Read as tokotoba until the Heian period.^[1][2]

Appears to be originally a compound of 常 ‎(toko, “eternal”, see above) +‎ とわ ‎(towa, “permanence, unchangingness”, from earlier とば toba).

This latter element is of unclear derivation. Some sources^[1] indicate that towa as an independent term arose as a contraction of earlier tokotoba, suggesting the possibility that toba was initially a compound of particles と ‎(to, adverbial particle) + は ‎(wa, formerly ba, even earlier pa; topic particle). However, other sources^[3] describe tokotowa as an intensified or emphatic form of towa.

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• (Tokyo) とことわ [tòkótówá] (Heiban - [0])^[3]
• (Tokyo) とこと​わ [tòkótóꜜwà] (Nakadaka - [3])^[3]
• IPA^(key): [to̞ko̞to̞ɰᵝa̠]

Alternative forms

• 常とわ, 恒とわ, (rare) 永久

Adjective

常 ‎(-na inflection, hiragana とことわ, romaji tokotowa, historical hiragana とことは)

1. (archaic, rare) permanent, eternal
2. (archaic, rare) usual, ordinary

Usage notes

Listed in dictionaries^[1][2][4] as a 形容動詞 ‎(keiyō dōshi, “-na adjective”). However, actual usage suggests that this was only used with particle に ‎(ni) as an adverb, and never with particle な ‎(na) or classical なる ‎(naru) as an adjective. When this appears attributively, it is followed by particle の ‎(no),^[3] the usual construction when using a noun to modify another noun.

Synonyms

• (permanent, eternal): 常 (とこ)しえ ‎(tokoshie)
• (usual, ordinary): 常 tsune (see above)

Noun

常 ‎(hiragana とことわ, romaji tokotowa, historical hiragana とことは)

1. (archaic, rare) permanence, eternity

Synonyms

• 常 (とこ)しえ ‎(tokoshie)

Etymology 6

Kanji in this term
常
とわ Grade: 5
kun'yomi

/toba/ → /towa/

From Old Japanese. Appears in the Tales of Ise, likely dating to the early 900s CE. Pronounced as toba until the later Heian period.^[1]

Ultimate derivation unknown. May be a contraction of earlier tokotoba (see above),^[1] or may have been an independent term used to form tokotoba as a compound.^[3]

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• (Tokyo) と​わ [tóꜜwà] (Atamadaka - [1])^[2][3]
• IPA^(key): [to̞ɰᵝa̠]

Alternative forms

• (rare) 永久

Adjective

常 ‎(-na inflection, hiragana とわ, romaji towa, historical hiragana とは)

1. constant, permanent, everlasting

Usage notes

Listed in some dictionaries^[1][2][4] as a 形容動詞 ‎(keiyō dōshi, “-na adjective”); other sources^[3] only list this as a 副詞 ‎(fukushi, “adverb”). Historical usage suggests that this was only used with particle に ‎(ni) as an adverb, and not with particle な ‎(na) or classical なる ‎(naru) as an adjective. When this appears attributively, it is followed by particle の ‎(no),^[2][4][3] the usual construction when using a noun to modify another noun.

Synonyms

• 常 (とこ)しえ ‎(tokoshie)

Noun

常 ‎(hiragana とわ, romaji towa, historical hiragana とは)

1. constancy, permanence, everlastingness

Synonyms

• 常 (とこ)しえ ‎(tokoshie)

References

1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9
3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13143-0
4. 1 2 3 1995, 大辞泉 (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, ISBN 4-09-501211-0

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Korean

Hanja

常 • ‎(sang) (hangeul 상, revised sang, McCune-Reischauer sang)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

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Vietnamese

Han character

常 (thường, sàn)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.