How to say “ordinary” in Chinese
ordinary, common
“Ordinary” in Chinese is 普通, pǔ tōng: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
普通 is read pǔ tōng: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
On the left, 辶 “walk”. Inside, 甬 — as in 痛 tòng and 桶 tǒng.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “普通”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 普通. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 我只是一个普通人wǒzhǐshìyígepǔtōngrénI'm just an ordinary person.
- 她的普通话很标准tādepǔtōnghuàhěnbiāozhǔnHer Putonghua is very standard.
- 你的普通话说得真标准！nǐdepǔtōnghuàshuōdezhēnbiāozhǔnYour Putonghua is so standard!
- 中国一直在推广普通话。ZhōngguóyìzhízàituīguǎngpǔtōnghuàChina has long been promoting Putonghua.
- 我们都是普通老百姓。wǒmendōushìpǔtōnglǎobǎixìngWe're all just ordinary people.
- 有机蔬菜比普通蔬菜贵yǒujīshūcàibǐpǔtōngshūcàiguìOrganic vegetables are more expensive than regular ones.
More words from the lesson “Good-looking or ordinary”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “ordinary” in Chinese?
“Ordinary” in Chinese is 普通, pinyin pǔtōng.
What does 普通 mean?
普通 (pǔtōng) means “ordinary, common”.
How do you write 普通?
普通 is 2 characters: 普 (pǔ) — universal, everywhere; 通 (tōng) — go through; connect. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 普通?
普通 is read pǔtōng. Tones: pǔ — third tone, tōng — first tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“ordinary” in the lesson “Good-looking or ordinary”
This word is from the topic “People: looks and character” of HSK 4. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
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