adjective #2,680

Meanings

  1. 1 general; universal
  2. 2 widespread; common

Examples

Qǐng shuō Pǔtōnghuà.
Please speak Mandarin.
Zhè shì pǔbiàn xiànxiàng.
This is a common phenomenon.
Pǔtōngrén yě néng zuòdào.
Ordinary people can do it too.

Tips

usage
forms key words: 普通 (ordinary/common), 普通话 (Mandarin — lit. 'common speech'), 普遍 (universal/widespread), 普及 (to popularize). Also in 普洱茶 (Pu'er tea) — a famous Chinese tea.

Components

radical
sun
Bottom sun radical — the indexing component. The image is of sunlight spreading universally, side-by-side coverage from above. From this came the meaning of widespread / common / universal. anchors many illumination words: (bright), (time), (warm), (sunny).
semantic
bìng
side by side; together
Top — two figures standing side by side, the visual core of together/in-parallel. Here it suggests broad coverage, side-by-side reach across many people. The whole character builds the sense of 'reaching widely, side by side, like sunlight across the land.'

Stroke Order