往常
wǎng cháng · HSK 7
habitually
📅 往 (past) + 常 (often/usual) = how things often were in the past, as one used to do
往 carries the sense of past or gone-by time, and 常 means usual or constant. Put together they label the way things habitually went before now, contrasting a former routine with the present.
往 — 彳 (step radical) + 主 (phonetic)
往 originally depicted a foot moving toward a place, with the 彳 radical signaling motion or walking. The right component 主 served mainly as a phonetic clue. Over time the meaning settled into 'to go (toward)' and, by extension, 'past' or 'previously'.
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.