Chinese word

常见

Pronunciation

Pinyincháng jiàn

Meaning

  • adjectivecommon

Example

学生迟到很常见。xué shēng chí dào hěn cháng jiàn

It is common for students to be late.

Illustration for 常见 (common)

More examples

在考试中，这种错误很常见。zài kǎo shì zhōng zhè zhǒng cuò wù hěn cháng jiàn

In exams, this kind of mistake is very common.

Core concept

Something that appears so often that it feels familiar rather than unusual.

Common phrases

  • 很常见hěn cháng jiàn

    very common

  • 常见问题cháng jiàn wèn tí

    common problem

  • 常见错误cháng jiàn cuò wù

    common mistake

Similar words

普通pǔ tōng: Average in quality or nature, without anything that makes it stand out.
一般yì bān: Broadly true in many situations and treated as the usual case.

Definition in Chinese

常常出现或容易遇到的情况或事物。cháng cháng chū xiàn huò róng yì yù dào de qíng kuàng huò shì wù

Word origin

常 (cháng, "often") + 见 (jiàn, "see") links repeated seeing with the idea of something frequently encountered.

Usage tips

  • Chinese often places 常见 (chángjiàn, "frequently encountered") directly before a noun, so it works naturally for categories such as people, abilities, and problems.

Other meanings

  • ordinaryadjective

Opposites

Word lists with this word