常常
chángcháng · HSK 1
oftentimes
🔁 常 + 常 = often + often; doubling intensifies the 'frequent' sense
常 means constant or ordinary; reduplicating it (常常) is a common Mandarin pattern that strengthens adverbs, yielding 'frequently / habitually'. Compare 慢慢 (slowly) and 高高 (very tall).
常 — 巾 (cloth) + 尚 (phonetic, 'esteem')
Originally written 裳, 常 was a phono-semantic compound: 巾 ('cloth') gave the meaning and 尚 supplied the sound, referring to a long lower garment or skirt. Over time the meaning shifted from 'everyday garment' to 'ordinary, regular, constant', while 裳 took over the original clothing sense.
常 — 巾 (cloth) + 尚 (phonetic, 'esteem')
Originally written 裳, 常 was a phono-semantic compound: 巾 ('cloth') gave the meaning and 尚 supplied the sound, referring to a long lower garment or skirt. Over time the meaning shifted from 'everyday garment' to 'ordinary, regular, constant', while 裳 took over the original clothing sense.