普通
Meaning in Englishnormal, common, usual
Animated kanji stroke order
Related sentences
Related sentences
There are no published items in this section yet.
Word context
What it means
What does 普通 mean? It denotes the state of being typical or expected, referring to things that are not exceptional, unusual, or special, and it functions as a broad label for everyday, standard, or plain conditions or items.
Main meanings
- General meaning: refers to things that are typical, standard, or not remarkable
- Everyday sense: used for everyday life, routine, or ordinary people or objects
- Adverbial usage: 普通に means normally or ordinarily in describing how something is done
How to use it
Used as a noun for 'the ordinary,' as a na-adjective in the form 普通のX, and as an adverbial form 普通に to mean normally; common in both formal and casual contexts; typical collocations include 普通の人, 普通の生活.
Variants and close terms
- 一般的 (ippanteki) - general
- 平凡 (heibon) - plain, ordinary
- 一般 (ippan) - general
- 普通の (futsū no) - ordinary
- 特別 (tokubetsu) - special (antonym)
Composition
- 普: broad, common
- 通: through, to pass; here contributes sense of common, widely applicable
Etymology
Phonetic evolution: The term combines the kun readings of 普 and 通, yielding futsū as the pronunciation; over time this reading stabilized to express the sense of generality and commonness.
Origin
Historical note: appears in classical Japanese; by the Edo period it had solidified as the standard term for everyday life and common conditions.
Word class
Noun, na-adjective (普通)