Chinese word

凡

Pronunciation

Pinyinfán

Meaning

  • adverball

Example

凡是学生，都要遵守校规。fán shì xué shēng dōu yào zūn shǒu xiào guī

All students must follow the school rules.

Illustration for 凡 (all)

More examples

凡遇到困难的人，可以寻求帮助。fán yù dào kùn nán de rén ké yǐ xún qiú bāng zhù

Whenever people encounter difficulties, they can seek help.

Core concept

Draws a wide boundary around a type of thing, treating what follows as true across that boundary.

Common phrases

  • 凡是fán shì

    all who are

  • 凡遇到fán yù dào

    whenever encountering

Similar words

一般yì bān: Describes what is generally common or usual, rather than every single case.
通常tōng cháng: Describes what usually happens in everyday practice or in most cases.
一概yí gài: Treats all cases as the same without allowing exceptions.
一律yí lǜ: Applies one identical standard to everyone or everything without making distinctions.

Definition in Chinese

表示对某一类事物的概括性判断，指一般情况或普遍适用，常用于“凡是…都…”等结构以说明对整体的适用性。biǎo shì duì mǒu yí lèi shì wù de gài kuò xìng pàn duàn zhǐ yì bān qíng kuàng huò pǔ biàn shì yòng cháng yòng yú fán shì dōu děng jié gòu yǐ shuō míng duì zhéng tǐ de shì yòng xìng

Word origin

凡 (fán, "all; ordinary") has long carried the idea of what is common or general, which supports its use as an adverb for a whole class.

Usage tips

  • For a conversational learner, 凡 (fán, "all") is a useful sign of formal or written style, especially when a sentence states a rule for a group.

Other meanings

  • generallyadverb

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word