ping4 soeng4平常
Jyutpingping4 soeng4
Yalepìhng sèuhng
Definition
Ordinary, usual, or commonplace.
colloquialdescriptionstime
How it's used
While 平常 functions as an adjective meaning ordinary, it is frequently used as an adverb to mean usually or normally. It carries a sense of neutrality, describing events that are routine and lack any special significance. When used to describe a person's temperament, it implies they are steady and not prone to extreme emotional swings.
Examples
These things are very commonplace, you don't need to make a big fuss.
Do you usually take the MTR to work?
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often confuse 平常 with 平時. While they overlap in meaning, 平時 is almost exclusively used as a noun or adverb referring to a period of time, whereas 平常 can also function as an adjective to describe the quality of an object or situation.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- LocationHow to say where something is using 喺 (hai2), place words like 度, and the common coverbs that work like English prepositions.
- Serial verbsStringing two or more verbs together without any joining word, like go to the shop buy things. Extremely common in Cantonese.
- 將 disposalHow to move the object in front of the verb with 將, to focus on what happens to it. Common in instructions and writing.
