普通

Chinese

general; popular; everywhere
general; popular; everywhere; universal
 
go through; know well; to connect
go through; know well; to connect; to communicate; open
 
trad. (普通) 普 通
simp. #(普通) 普 通

Pronunciation

Adjective

普通

  1. ordinary, plain, average, nothing special, general
    普通員工／普通员工  ―  pǔtōng yuángōng  ―  ordinary employee; general staff
    我跟她真的只是普通朋友。 [MSC, trad. and simp.]
    Wǒ gēn tā zhēnde zhǐshì pǔtōng péngyǒu. [Pinyin]
    She and I are really just friends.
    他明明那麼普通卻又那麼自信。 [MSC, trad.]
    他明明那么普通却又那么自信。 [MSC, simp.]
    Tā míngmíng nàme pǔtōng què yòu nàme zìxìn. [Pinyin]
    He's clearly so ordinary, and yet so confident.
  2. common; universal; widespread

Synonyms

  • (ordinary):
  • (common):

Antonyms

Derived terms

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (普通):
  • → Japanese: 普(ふ)通(つう) (futsū)
  • → Korean: 보통(普通) (botong)
  • → Vietnamese: phổ thông (普通)

Further reading

Japanese

Kanji in this term
普 通
ふ
Grade: S 		つう
Grade: 2
goon

Etymology

/putuː/ → /fut͡suː/

From Middle Chinese compound 普通 (pʰuoX thuwng, literally “ordinary + through”). Compare modern Hakka phû-thûng, Cantonese pou2 tung1, Mandarin pǔtōng.

Pronunciation

  • (Tokyo) ふつう [fùtsúú] (Heiban – [0])[1]
  • IPA(key): [ɸɯ̟t͡sɨː]

Adjective

普(ふ)通(つう) • (futsū) -na (adnominal 普(ふ)通(つう)な (futsū na), adverbial 普(ふ)通(つう)に (futsū ni))

  1. common, ordinary
  2. (informal, in the adverbial form 普通に) Used when straightforwardly describing one's opinion.
    普通(ふつう)に美味(おい)しい
    futsū ni oishī
    just delicious
    普通(ふつう)にきもい
    futsū ni kimoi
    plain gross

Usage notes

The form 普通の is replacing 普通な in modern Japanese. See the usage notes below.

Inflection

Inflection of 普通
Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形) 普通だろ ふつうだろ futsū daro
Continuative (連用形) 普通で ふつうで futsū de
Terminal (終止形) 普通だ ふつうだ futsū da
Attributive (連体形) 普通な ふつうな futsū na
Hypothetical (仮定形) 普通なら ふつうなら futsū nara
Imperative (命令形) 普通であれ ふつうであれ futsū de are
Key constructions
Informal negative 普通ではない
普通じゃない 		ふつうではない
ふつうじゃない 		futsū de wa nai
futsū ja nai
Informal past 普通だった ふつうだった futsū datta
Informal negative past 普通ではなかった
普通じゃなかった 		ふつうではなかった
ふつうじゃなかった 		futsū de wa nakatta
futsū ja nakatta
Formal 普通です ふつうです futsū desu
Formal negative 普通ではありません
普通じゃありません 		ふつうではありません
ふつうじゃありません 		futsū de wa arimasen
futsū ja arimasen
Formal past 普通でした ふつうでした futsū deshita
Formal negative past 普通ではありませんでした
普通じゃありませんでした 		ふつうではありませんでした
ふつうじゃありませんでした 		futsū de wa arimasen deshita
futsū ja arimasen deshita
Conjunctive 普通で ふつうで futsū de
Conditional 普通なら（ば） ふつうなら（ば） futsū nara (ba)
Provisional 普通だったら ふつうだったら futsū dattara
Volitional 普通だろう ふつうだろう futsū darō
Adverbial 普通に ふつうに futsū ni
Degree 普通さ ふつうさ futsūsa

Noun

普(ふ)通(つう) • (futsū) 

  1. the common, the ordinary, nothing special
    • 2023, MyGO!!!!!, “栞(しおり) (Shiori, “Bookmark”)”, in 織(お)田(だ)あすか (Oda Asuka) (lyrics), 壱(ひと)雫空(しずく) (Hitoshizuku)‎youtube:
      "普(ふ)通(つう)" とか "あたりまえ" ってなんだろう
      "futsū" to ka "atarimae" tte nan darō
      What does it mean to be "normal" or "ordinary"?

Usage notes

As a noun, it is usually used with the possessive particle の (​no), which makes it function as an adjective.

普通 is widely used for a variety of purposes. For example, to display modesty, one can use it respond to flattery (“oh, I’m nothing special”). Similarly, if a restaurant is okay, but not particularly noteworthy, it can be described as 普通.

普通 is also used in various conventional senses – a 普通列車 is a local train (as opposed to the 特急列車 or “special express train”), while an average student is a 普通の学生 (futsū no gakusei).

See also

References

  1. ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  • “普通”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎[1] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2026
  • Ineko Kondō, Fumi Takano, Mary E. Althaus, et al. (2002), Shogakukan Progressive Japanese-English Dictionary, third edition, Tokyo: Shōgakukan, →ISBN

Korean

Hanja in this term
普通

Noun

普通 • (botong) (hangeul 보통)

  1. hanja form? of 보통 (“normality; usually”)

Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term
普通

Adjective

普通

  1. chữ Hán form of phổ thông (“common, ordinary”)
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