HSK 6 · Time

往常 wǎngcháng “usually (in the past)” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 往常 means

  1. usually (in the past)
  2. as before
  3. usual
  4. customary

How to say 往常

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale往wǎng3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale常cháng2nd tone, rising

往常 in a sentence

  1. 他像往常一样五点钟起床。

    Tā xiàng wǎngcháng yíyàng wǔ diǎnzhōng qǐchuáng.

    He got up at five o’clock as usual.

    Sentence #879195 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

  2. 会议比往常早结束。

    Huìyì bǐ wǎngcháng zǎo jiéshù.

    The meeting finished earlier than usual.

    Sentence #865555 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

  3. 明天是运动会的排练，没有往常的课程。

    Míngtiān shì yùndònghuì de páiliàn, méiyǒu wǎngcháng de kèchéng.

    There are no regular classes tomorrow because of the sports day rehearsal.

    Sentence #6484853 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 往常 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 往 (wǎng) drawn as one shape
往wǎngto go

往 is a single shape of 8 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.

The character 常 (cháng) with each of its parts in a different colour
常chángalways
  • 尚still · shàngSound part
  • 巾napkin · jīnMeaning part

巾 hints at the meaning (napkin); 尚 (shàng) hints at the sound. Compare it with cháng.

Memory aidCloth 巾 with 尚 (shàng) for the sound. Its first meaning was a skirt; now it means “often, usual”.

How to write 往常

往 8 strokes · 常 11 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

往常 (wǎngcháng) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 往常 (wǎngcháng). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 往常

Words with 往

往wǎng · to go (in a direction)往往wǎngwǎng · usually交往jiāowǎng · to associate with往返wǎngfǎn · to go back and forth往事wǎngshì · the past以往yǐwǎng · in the past向往xiàngwǎng · to yearn for礼尚往来lǐshàngwǎnglái · courtesy calls for reciprocity一如既往yìrújìwǎng · as always

Words with 常

非常fēicháng · extremely常cháng · often经常jīngcháng · often常见chángjiàn · common常用chángyòng · commonly used常常chángcháng · often正常zhèngcháng · regular平常píngcháng · ordinary常识chángshí · common sense日常rìcháng · day-to-day

More words: Time & Sequence

时机shíjī · opportunity瞬间shùnjiān · instant随即suíjí · immediately岁月suìyuè · years往事wǎngshì · the past为期wéiqī · to last for (a period)向来xiànglái · always先前xiānqián · before

FAQs

往常 (wǎngcháng) means “usually (in the past)” or “as before”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it wǎngcháng: wǎng with a 3rd tone, then cháng with a 2nd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 往常 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type wangchang with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 往常 from the suggestions. Typing wangchang into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
往常 is an HSK 6 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.