TongTong
Sign in

一般 (yī bān) — ordinary, common, so-so

Definition

At HSK 3, 一般 is the casual 'so-so / just average' — a mildly negative judgment on quality. 普通 means plain or ordinary in a neutral sense; 正常 means normal (as expected).

adjective
ordinarycommonso-so

Examples

  • 一般，。
    Zhè běn shū hěn yī bān, wǒ bù xǐ huan.
    This book is just so-so; I don't like it.
  • 一般。
    Zhè ge shāng diàn de yī fu zhì liàng yī bān.
    The quality of the clothes in this store is ordinary.
  • 一般。
    Tā de chéng jì hěn yī bān.
    His grades are just average.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

一yīone
般bānkind

一 and 般 mean one kind, extended to ordinary or general.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Open 一 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 般 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 3HSK 2.0 Level 3Good & Bad2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 3 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.