常

Glyph origin
.

The character originally referred to "lower garment", before being phonetically borrowed to mean "long-lasting; frequently". The original sense is now represented by the character.

Etymology
From ; perhaps related to 🇨🇬.

Definitions

 * 1) normal; general; common
 * 2) constant; invariable
 * 3) often; frequently
 * 4)  law and order
 * 5)  law; rule; regular pattern
 * 6) 51st tetragram of the Taixuanjing; "constancy" (𝌸)
 * 1) often; frequently
 * 2)  law and order
 * 3)  law; rule; regular pattern
 * 4) 51st tetragram of the Taixuanjing; "constancy" (𝌸)
 * 1)  law and order
 * 2)  law; rule; regular pattern
 * 3) 51st tetragram of the Taixuanjing; "constancy" (𝌸)
 * 1)  law and order
 * 2)  law; rule; regular pattern
 * 3) 51st tetragram of the Taixuanjing; "constancy" (𝌸)
 * 1) 51st tetragram of the Taixuanjing; "constancy" (𝌸)
 * 1) 51st tetragram of the Taixuanjing; "constancy" (𝌸)
 * 1) 51st tetragram of the Taixuanjing; "constancy" (𝌸)

Definitions

 * 1)  indolent; sloppy

Kanji

 * 1) eternal, unchanging
 * 2) ordinary, usual
 * 3) continuation

Etymology 1
→ →

From.

Adverb

 * 1)  always, constantly, consistently

Noun

 * 1) a traditional Japanese unit of length, equal to one  and three

Etymology 2
→ * →

First attested in the  (712 ).

Cognate with root kiza in.

Also sometimes read as kita.

Noun

 * 1)  a traditional Japanese unit of measure for the length of cut cloth, equal to one  and three
 * 2)  a traditional Japanese unit of measure for the area of an agricultural field or paddy, equal to either 360, later reduced to 300 /

Etymology 3
→

From. Appears in the , compiled around 759. May be cognate with, with underlying ideas of "connection, continuance".

Adjective

 * 1)  eternal, permanent, consistent
 * 2)  normal, everyday, regular, usual, ordinary

Usage notes
This appears as an adjective in older texts with the classical attributive form tsune naru. When used attributively in modern Japanese, this term is used with the particle instead: Modern Japanese does still use this term as an adverb, with particle :

Noun

 * 1) constancy, continuance
 * 2) the ordinary, the everyday

Etymology 4
→ * →

From. Possibly cognate with.

The way the term is used in the historical record suggests that this was originally a noun. By the time of written Japanese, however, this term only appears in compounds, never on its own, and its usage is more as an adjective to modify other nouns.

Prefix

 * 1) eternal, forever, unchanging, everlasting

Usage notes
Only used in compounds. Attaches to nouns and other nominals, often (but not always) with the now-obsolete possessive particle.

Etymology 5
→

From. Read as tokotoba until the.

Appears to be originally a compound of.

This latter element is of unclear derivation. Some sources indicate that towa as an independent term arose as a contraction of earlier tokotoba, suggesting the possibility that toba was initially a compound of particles +. However, other sources describe tokotowa as an intensified or emphatic form of towa.

Adjective

 * 1)  permanent, eternal
 * 2)  usual, ordinary
 * 1)  usual, ordinary

Usage notes
Listed in dictionaries as a. However, actual usage suggests that this was only used with particle as an adverb, and never with particle  or classical  as an adjective. When this appears attributively, it is followed by particle, the usual construction when using a noun to modify another noun.

Noun

 * 1)  permanence, eternity

Etymology
From.