(píng cháng) - ordinary, usually in Mandarin
píngchángTraditional: 平常
Translation
ordinary, usually
Word origin
平 (píng) is level or flat, a pictograph of something balanced. 常 (cháng) means constant or usual, from 巾 (cloth) with 尚 as the phonetic. Level and constant together give the sense of nothing out of the ordinary.
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 平 (píng, level) + 常 (cháng, constant)
Stroke order
平
常
Examples
。
He usually gets up at six.
。
This is only a very ordinary little matter.
。
I do not usually drink coffee.
。
Her reaction was a little slower than usual.
，。
For him, working overtime is an entirely ordinary thing.
平常 (píng cháng) covers two jobs. As an adjective it means ordinary or unremarkable, usually before 的: 很平常的事 is a perfectly ordinary matter. As a time word it means normally or on a usual day, and it sits before the verb: 我平常不喝咖啡.
The time use is the more frequent one, and it is often set against an exception. 平常我走路上班，今天下雨所以坐车 contrasts what normally happens with what happened today, which is exactly the shape English gives to usually.
The trap is the near neighbour 经常 (jīng cháng, often). 平常 answers what your default is; 经常 counts how frequently something happens. 我平常七点吃饭 describes your routine, while 我经常七点吃饭 says you often eat at seven and leaves the rest open. Slotting one in for the other is the commonest error learners make with this word.
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平常: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "平常" (ordinary, usually): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 57.