Normal, Usual, Constant

Interesting Fact

One of the most fascinating old uses of 常 appears in 常世（とこよ）, an ancient Japanese idea of a distant world beyond the sea where things never changed and people could live forever. In stories recorded in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, gods and legendary figures travel to this mysterious realm. The name eventually became associated with permanence and eternity. So the idea behind 常 is much older than simply “normal” or “usual”—it carries an ancient sense of something that continues without changing.