About

The Chinese word 普通 is formed by combining two characters, each with its own historical and semantic roots. 普 (pǔ) originates from an ideogram depicting the sun (日) over a field, symbolizing sunlight spreading everywhere, thus conveying notions of universality and widespread coverage. 通 (tōng) derives from a pictographic element representing movement (辶) combined with a component suggesting a passage or thoroughfare, implying connectivity and unobstructed flow. Together, these characters merge the concepts of all-encompassing reach and seamless accessibility, yielding the integrated meaning of "common" or "ordinary", as something that is broadly prevalent and easily encountered without barrier.

Example Sentences Hide

他是一个普通的学生。

Tā shì yī gè pǔtōng de xuéshēng.

He is an ordinary student.

这本书的内容很普通

Zhè běn shū de nèiróng hěn pǔtōng.

The content of this book is very ordinary.

普通的生活中也有快乐的时刻。

Pǔtōng de shēnghuó zhōng yě yǒu kuàilè de shíkè.

There are also happy moments in ordinary life.

虽然这件衣服看起来很普通,但质量很好。

Suīrán zhè jiàn yīfu kàn qǐlái hěn pǔtōng, dàn zhìliàng hěn hǎo.

Although this piece of clothing looks very ordinary, its quality is very good.

普通的情况下,我们都会选择最简单的方法。

Zài pǔtōng de qíngkuàng xià, wǒmen dōu huì xuǎnzé zuì jiǎndān de fāngfǎ.

Under ordinary circumstances, we would all choose the simplest method.

Word Definition - 普通

pǔ tōng common; ordinary; general; average

Individual Character Details