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.

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	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 忘 带 钥匙 就 出门 了 。Wǒ jīngcháng wàng dài yàoshi jiù chūmén le.I often forget my keys and go out.
• 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.
• 这个 孩子 很 不 听话 经常 发 脾气。Zhège háizi hěn bù tīnghuà jīngcháng fā píqì.This child is very disobedient and often throws tantrums.
• 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 经常 早上 六 点 起床 。Wǒ jīngcháng zǎoshang liù diǎn qǐchuáng.I often get up at 6am.
• 周末 我 经常 去 那家 饭店 吃饭。Zhōumò wǒ jīngcháng qù nàjiā fàndiàn chīfàn.I often go to that restaurant for dinner on weekends.
• 我 常常 想 独自 一 个 人 去 旅行。Wǒ chángcháng xiǎng dúzì yī gè rén qù lǚxíng.I have often wanted to travel alone.
• 这个 学生 不 爱 学习，他 经常 不 做 回家 作业。Zhège xuéshēng bù ài xuéxí, tā jīngcháng bù zuò huíjiā zuòyè.This student does not like to study and he often does not do his homework.
• 我 经常 用 微信 和 朋友 视频。Wǒ jīngcháng yòng Wēixìn hé péngyou shìpín.I often use WeChat to video with my friends.
• 周末 我 常常 跟 朋友 聊天 。Zhōumò wǒchángcháng gēn péngyou liáotiān.I often chat with my friends on weekends.
• 他 经常 说谎，所以 没有 人 相信 他 的 话。Tā jīngcháng shuōhuǎng, suǒyǐ méiyǒu rén xiāngxìn tā de huà.He lies so often that no one believes his words.
• 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 metro 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 takeout.
• 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》