usual · always

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 常 relates to what is usual or constant; its on-reading is じょう.
• Basic usage: 日常(にちじょう) means everyday life, while 非常(ひじょう) is used for an emergency or the meaning extremely.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Daily life, an emergency, and emphasis
  • 日常 refers to the ordinary life one returns to after a trip or sees captured in photographs. 非常の場合 means in an emergency.
  • 非常に分かりやすい means extremely easy to understand. Here, 非常に emphasizes how easy something is to understand rather than referring to an emergency.