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平庸 (píng yōng) — mediocre; ordinary and unremarkable (often with a negative connotation)

Definition

平庸 describes a person, work, or life that is unremarkably ordinary and disappointing — stronger than 平凡 (plainly ordinary) and always negative. 淡然 and 冷淡 focus on cold emotion; 中庸 names the Confucian idea of the mean.

adjective
mediocreordinary and unremarkable (often with a negative connotation)

Examples

  • 平庸，。
    Tā de gōng zuò biǎo xiàn hěn píng yōng, suǒ yǐ lǎo bǎn bú tài mǎn yì.
    His work performance is mediocre, so the boss is not very satisfied.
  • 平庸，。
    Wǒ bù xiǎng guò píng yōng de shēng huó, wǒ xiǎng zhuī qiú zì jǐ de mèng xiǎng.
    I don't want to live a mediocre life; I want to pursue my own dreams.
  • 平庸，。
    Zhè bù diàn yǐng qíng jié píng yōng, méi shén me zhí dé kàn de.
    The plot of this movie is mediocre; there's nothing worth watching.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

平píngordinary
庸yōngmediocre

平 (ordinary) and 庸 (mediocre) combine to mean unremarkable.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The origin is uncertain. One explanation combines 八 (division) and 亏 (exhaled air) to show smooth speech.

Open 平 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
庚庚gēng
Sound part声符shēngfú
同
同tóng庸yōng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

庸 is built from 庚 and 同, with 同 giving the sound. It probably originally meant a large bell.

Open 庸 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Good & Bad

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