时常
shícháng · HSK 5
frequently
⏰ 时 = time + 常 = often; literally 'time-often' = frequently
时 means time/hour (as in 时间) and 常 means often/usual (as in 经常). Stack them and you get 'time-often' — something that happens repeatedly across time, i.e. now and again or frequently.
时 — sun 日 + temple/measure 寺
Originally a phono-semantic compound: 日 (sun) gives the meaning of time or season, while 寺 (shí) supplies the sound. Early forms used 之 as the phonetic before 寺 replaced it. The core sense 'season, time, hour' has stayed stable since ancient Chinese.
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.