Comparing "changchang" and "jingchang"

Both 常常 (chángcháng) and 经常 (jīngcháng) mean "often" or “frequently”.

In most circumstances 常常 and 经常 can be used interchangeably.

	常常 (chángcháng)	经常 (jīngcháng)
Meaning	usually	habitually or routinely
Part of Speech	adverb	adverb and adjective
Formality	formal and informal	formal and informal

The key difference between these words is 常常 emphasizes usually (more often than not), whereas 经常 emphasizes habitually or routinely (a repeated patterned action).

Similarities

Common Phrases

These phrases work with both 常常 and 经常 although the meaning is slightly different.

～生病

• 经常 生病 jīngcháng shēngbìng usually get sick
• 常常 生病 chángcháng shēngbìng habitually get sick

～锻炼身体

• 经常 锻炼身体 jīngcháng duànliàn shēntǐ usually workout
• 常常 锻炼身体 chángcháng duànliàn shēntǐ routinely workout

～看电视

• 经常 看电视 jīngcháng kàndiànshì usually watch TV
• 常常 看电视 chángcháng kàndiànshì routinely watch TV

～玩电脑

• 经常 玩电脑 jīngcháng wán diànnǎo usually play on the computer
• 常常 玩电脑 chángcháng wán diànnǎo habitually play on the computer

Example Sentences

In the following sentences, 常常 AND 经常 both can be used interchangeably:

Differences

Example Sentences

In the following sentences, it is best to use 经常（habitually or routinely repeated actions):

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 other uses of 经常 and a grammar-based comparison of 经常 and 常常 please click on this link to our grammar wiki page.