View source for Comparing "changchang" and "jingchang"

Both 常常 (chángcháng) and 经常 (jīngcháng) are used to mean "often" or "frequently." In most circumstances, 常常 (chángcháng) and 经常 (jīngcháng) can be used interchangeably. Both can be used in formal and informal settings, although 经常 (jīngcháng) is more common in spoken Chinese.

{{SimilarWordsCol1|常常|chángcháng|often, frequently|adverb|flexible}}
{{SimilarWordsCol2|经常|jīngcháng|often, frequently|adverb (mostly)|flexible}}
{{SimilarWordsPageInfo|B1|HSK3|ASV4567}}
{{2021-HSK|HSK2}}

== 常常 (chángcháng) and 经常 (jīngcháng) are generally interchangeable==

In the following sentences, it is fine to use either 常常 or 经常.

<div class="liju">
* 我 <em>经常</em> 坐 地铁 去 上班 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>jīngcháng</em> zuò dìtiě qù shàngbān.</span><span class="trans">I often take the metro to work.</span>
* 同事 对 我 很 好 ，<em>经常</em> 帮 我 。<span class="pinyin">Tóngshì duì wǒ hěn hǎo, jīngcháng bāng wǒ.</span><span class="trans">My colleagues are very nice to me and help me a lot.</span>
* 我 <em>经常</em> 去 这 家 餐厅 吃饭 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ jīngcháng qù zhèjiā cāntīng chīfàn.</span><span class="trans">I often go to this restaurant to eat.</span>
* 我 最近 <em>常常</em> 练习 说 中文 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ zuìjìn chángcháng liànxí shuō Zhōngwén.</span><span class="trans">I have been practising speaking Chinese a lot recently.</span>
* 我 不 <em>经常</em> 加班 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ bù jīngcháng jiābān.</span><span class="trans">I don't work overtime very often.</span>
* 上海 堵车 是 <em>经常</em> 的 事情。<span class="pinyin">Shànghǎi dǔchē shì jīngcháng de shìqing.</span><span class="trans">Traffic jams in Shanghai are a regular occurrence.</span>
* 我 <em>常常</em> 加班 。
* 我 <em>经常</em> 去 出差 。
* 我 <em>经常</em> 用 微信 和 朋友 视频。
* 周末 我 <em>常常</em> 跟 朋友 聊天 。
* 飞机 <em>经常</em> 晚点 。
* 我 和 女朋友 <em>常常</em> 去 公园 散步 。
</div>

== You can negate both 常常 (chángcháng) and 经常 (jīngcháng) with 不常 (bù cháng) ==

This is something that's a bit special about both words: when you add 不 to make them negative, you can also drop the first character, resulting in 不常 (bù cháng) for either one.

<div class="liju">
* 我 <em>不常</em> 坐 地铁 去 上班 。
* 我 喜欢 自己 做饭 ，所以 我 <em>不常</em> 叫 外卖 。
* 我们的 销售 经理 经常 出差 ，我们 在 公司 <em>不常</em> 看到 他 。
</div>

== Advanced Differences == 

经常 is an adjective as well as an adverb, therefore it can be used differently than 常常. For more details on the use of 经常 and a grammar-based comparison of 常常 and 经常 please click here to visit our Grammar Wiki page: [https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Comparing_%22changchang%22_and_%22jingchang%22 Grammar Wiki comparing “changchang” and “jingchang”]

== Sources and further reading ==

=== Books ===

《现代汉语八百词》

=== Websites ===