The Chinese word **无常 (wúcháng)** is a compound formed by combining the character **无 (wú)**, meaning "without" or "lack of," with **常 (cháng)**, meaning "constancy," "permanence," or "regularity." Literally, it means "without constancy" or "impermanent." This formation follows a common Chinese grammatical structure where a negating element modifies a noun to create an abstract concept. The term is deeply rooted in Buddhist philosophy, where it specifically denotes the fundamental principle that all conditioned phenomena are transient and inconstant, and it has been adopted into general usage to describe life's unpredictability and constant change.