Chinese word

普通

Pronunciation

Pinyinpǔ tōng

Meaning

  • adjectiveordinary

Example

这件衣服很普通。zhè jiàn yī fú hěn pǔ tōng

This piece of clothing is very ordinary.

Illustration for 普通 (ordinary)

More examples

这个地方很普通，没什么好看的。zhè ge dì fāng hěn pǔ tōng méi shén me hǎo kàn de

This place is very ordinary, and there is not much to see.

Core concept

Something found in the broad middle of everyday life, rather than at an unusual or remarkable edge.

Common phrases

  • 有点普通yóu diǎn pǔ tōng

    somewhat ordinary

  • 普通的生活pǔ tōng de shēng huó

    ordinary life

Similar words

一般yì bān: Applying to many usual cases and showing no distinctive quality.

Definition in Chinese

不特别，与大多数没有明显差别；处于中等或常见的状态。bú tè bié yǔ dà duō shù méi yǒu míng xiǎn chā bié chǔ yú zhōng děng huò cháng jiàn de zhuàng tài

Word origin

普通 (pǔtōng, "ordinary") joins the ideas of broad reach in 普 (pǔ, "widespread") and common connection in 通 (tōng, "shared") to describe what many people have in common.

Usage tips

  • In comments about a person or an object, this adjective usually focuses on lack of special features and does not by itself judge quality as good or bad.

Other meanings

  • commonadjective

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word