TongTong
Sign in

俗 (sú) — popular, common (often with a negative connotation); vulgar, coarse; secular, worldly

Definition

俗 covers 'vulgar, tacky' in style or taste, and 'popular, everyday' in culture — used in compounds like 通俗 (accessible) and 庸俗 (tacky). 难听 is specifically about sounds or words heard; 粗 is rougher, more about behavior and texture.

adjective
popularcommon (often with a negative connotation)vulgarcoarsesecularworldly

Examples

  • 俗，。
    Zhè zhǒng shuō fǎ tài sú le, tīng qǐ lái bù lǐ mào.
    This kind of expression is too vulgar; it sounds impolite.
  • 俗，。
    Tā de yī fu hěn sú, méi yǒu shén me pǐn wèi.
    Her clothes are very tacky; they have no taste.
  • 俗。
    sú Wén huà hé yǎ wén huà gè yǒu gè de tè diǎn.
    Popular culture and refined culture each have their own characteristics.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
谷
谷gǔ俗sú
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

俗 is built from 亻, a person, and 谷, which gives the sound; it refers to customs of people.

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Good & Bad

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.