Onyomi: ジョウ · Kunyomi: つね, とこ- · Meanings: always, common, continually, long-lasting, normal, ordinary, regular, usual
Kanji for always, common, continually, long-lasting, normal
Fast lookup with examples and clean stroke-order visualization.
Experience 常 in 3D! View the complete 3D Kanji model to understand its shape and stroke depth from every angle. Click the button below to see 常 in 3D and explore how each stroke forms this character.
Please support us by sharing!
常 is made from the elements 小 (small) on top and 巾 (cloth) below, with a meaning that evolved over time. Originally, it suggested a person folding or arranging small pieces of cloth regularly, following a repeated routine. From this image of regular, repeated actions, 常 came to mean something usual, normal, or constant — things that happen regularly and predictably.
常 shows regular, repeated actions, meaning usual, normal, or constant.
Picture yourself folding cloth (巾) in the same way every day (小), making it a constant routine. That habit is 常.
| Word | Reading | Meaning | Meta |
|---|---|---|---|
| 永久 | えいきゅう | eternity, permanence, perpetuity | common JLPT-N3 Noun, Na-adjective (keiyodoshi), Noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no' |
| 常 | つね | usual state of things | common Noun, Noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no' |
| 只 | ただ | ordinary, common, usual | common JLPT-N3 JLPT-N2 Noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no', Noun |
| 常 | とこ | constant, unchanging, eternal | common Prefix |
| 永久 | とわ | eternity, perpetuity, permanence | Noun, Na-adjective (keiyodoshi), Noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no' |
| 常識 | じょうしき | common sense, good sense, common knowledge, general knowledge, common practice, accepted practice, social etiquette | common JLPT-N3 Noun |
| 常に | つねに | always, constantly | common JLPT-N3 Adverb (fukushi) |
| 常用 | じょうよう | habitual use, daily use | common Noun, Suru verb, Transitive verb, Noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no' |
| 常時 | じょうじ | usually, ordinarily, always | common Noun, Adverb (fukushi) |
| 常習 | じょうしゅう | custom, common practice, habit | common Noun, Suru verb, Transitive verb, Noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no' |