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.

B1HSK3ASV4567

	常常 (chángcháng)	经常 (jīngcháng)
Meaning	often, frequently	often, frequently
Part of Speech	adverb	adverb (mostly)
Formality	flexible	flexible

:Yes

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.

• 我 经常 坐 地铁 去 上班 。Wǒ jīngcháng zuò dìtiě qù shàngbān.I often take the metro to work.
• 同事 对 我 很 好 ，经常 帮 我 。Tóngshì duì wǒ hěn hǎo, jīngcháng bāng wǒ.My colleagues are very nice to me and help me a lot.
• 我 经常 去 这 家 餐厅 吃饭 。Wǒ jīngcháng qù zhèjiā cāntīng chīfàn.I often go to this restaurant to eat.
• 我 最近 常常 练习 说 中文 。Wǒ zuìjìn chángcháng liànxí shuō Zhōngwén.I have been practising speaking Chinese a lot recently.
• 我 不 经常 加班 。Wǒ bù jīngcháng jiābān.I don't work overtime very often.
• 上海 堵车 是 经常 的 事情。Shànghǎi dǔchē shì jīngcháng de shìqing.Traffic jams in Shanghai are a regular occurrence.
• 我 常常 加班 。Wǒ chángcháng jiābān.I work overtime a lot.
• 我 经常 去 出差 。Wǒ jīngcháng qù chūchāi.I often go on business trips.
• 我 经常 用 微信 和 朋友 视频。Wǒ jīngcháng yòng Wēi xìn hé péngyou shìpín.I often use WeChat to video with my friends.
• 周末 我 常常 跟 朋友 聊天 。Zhōumò wǒ chángcháng gēn péngyou liáotiān.I often chat with my friends on weekends.
• 飞机 经常 晚点 。Fēijī jīngcháng wǎndiǎn.Flights are often late.
• 我 和 女朋友 常常 去 公园 散步 。Wǒ hé nǚpéngyou chángcháng qù gōngyuán sànbù.My girlfriend and I often go for walks in the park.

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.

• 我 不常 坐 地铁 去 上班 。Wǒ bùcháng zuò dìtiě qù shàngbān.I don't often take the underground to work.
• 我 喜欢 自己 做饭 ，所以 我 不常 叫 外卖 。Wǒ xǐhuan zìjǐ zuòfàn, suǒyǐ wǒ bùcháng jiào wàimài.I like to cook for myself, so I don't often order takeaways.
• 我们的 销售 经理 经常 出差 ，我们 在 公司 不常 看到 他 。Wǒmen de xiāoshòu jīnglǐ jīngcháng chūchāi, wǒmen zài gōngsī bùcháng kàn dào tā.Our sales manager travels a lot and we don't see him at work very often.

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: Grammar Wiki comparing “changchang” and “jingchang”

Sources and further reading

Books

《现代汉语八百词》