Chinese edit

 
ordinary; every; all
ordinary; every; all; whatever; worldly
man; person; people
simp. and trad.
(凡人)

Pronunciation edit


Noun edit

凡人

  1. ordinary person; average person; common people
  2. mortal

Synonyms edit

  • (ordinary person):
  • (mortal):

Japanese edit

Etymology 1 edit

Kanji in this term
ぼん
Grade: S
にん
Grade: 1
on’yomi

From Middle Chinese compound 凡人 (bjom nyin). Compare modern Hakka reading fàm-ngìn.

The goon, so likely the initial borrowing.

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

(ぼん)(にん) (bonnin

  1. an ordinary person
  2. a commoner, someone who is not nobility
Usage notes edit

This reading appears to be somewhat less common than bonjin below.

The ordinary sense of this term is somewhat negative, with overtones of mediocre, unremarkable, lackluster.

Synonyms edit

Etymology 2 edit

Kanji in this term
ぼん
Grade: S
じん
Grade: 1
on’yomi

Shift in pronunciation from bonnin above, using the kan'on reading of jin for .

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

(ぼん)(じん) (bonjin

  1. an ordinary person
  2. a commoner, someone who is not nobility
Usage notes edit

This appears to be the more common reading.

The ordinary sense of this term is somewhat negative, with overtones of mediocre, unremarkable, lackluster.

Synonyms edit
Antonyms edit

Etymology 3 edit

Kanji in this term
はん
Grade: S
じん
Grade: 1
on’yomi

Shift in pronunciation from bonnin or bonjin above, using the kan'on reading for both characters.

This reading appears in use by the 有職家 (yūsokuka, people well acquainted with the rites and ceremonies of the imperial court and nobility).[2]

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): [hã̠ɲ̟d͡ʑĩɴ]

Noun edit

(はん)(じん) (hanjin

  1. (rare, possibly obsolete) an ordinary person, a commoner
Usage notes edit

The hanjin reading is the least common.

References edit

  1. 1.0 1.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  2. ^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典(新装版) [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN