庸 (yōng) — mediocre; commonplace (bound form, used in compounds)

Definition

A bound morpheme meaning 'mediocre / vulgar', never used alone. Combines with 俗 (庸俗 'vulgar') and 平 (平庸 'mediocre, run-of-the-mill').

bound form
mediocrecommonplace (bound form, used in compounds)
Easily confused

Examples

  • ，。
    Tā zhǐ shì yí gè píng yōng de rén, méi yǒu shén me tè bié de dì fāng.
    He is just a mediocre person with nothing special about him.
  • ，。
    Zhè zhǒng xiǎng fǎ tài yōng sú le, wǒ bù xǐ huan.
    This kind of thinking is too vulgar; I don't like it.
  • ，？
    yōng Rén zì rǎo, hé bì xiǎng nà me duō?
    A mediocre person troubles himself; why overthink it?

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
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.

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