noun/adjective HSK 7-9 #8,274

Meanings

  1. 1 custom; convention
  2. 2 vulgar; common; popular

Examples

Fēngsú bùtóng.
The customs are different.
Tōngsúyìdǒng.
Easy to understand (popular).

Tips

usage
风俗 = custom, 俗语 = saying/proverb, 通俗 = popular/accessible.

Components

radical
rén
person (radical form of 人)
Left person radical — the side-form of . The indexing element. Puts in the human-condition family with (humaneness), (trust), (manners), (relations). Custom, vulgarity, and the secular world are all matters of how ordinary people live — the radical anchors the meaning in everyday human society.
phonetic
valley (here phonetic)
Right supplies the sound — gǔ drifting to sú through historical g/s shift across the phonetic series. itself depicts a valley with water flowing out between two ridges. The picture suits: ordinary folk live down in the valleys — common life flows along the low ground. Same phonetic: (bathe), (desire).

Stroke Order