凡人

Chinese

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

Pronunciation

Noun

凡人

  1. ordinary person; common people
  2. mortal

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
凡 人
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

Noun

凡人 (hiragana ぼんにん, rōmaji bonnin)

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

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

Etymology 2

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

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

Pronunciation

Noun

凡人 (hiragana ぼんじん, rōmaji bonjin)

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

This appears to be the more common reading.

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

Synonyms
Antonyms

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
凡 人
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

Noun

凡人 (hiragana はんじん, rōmaji hanjin)

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

The hanjin reading is the least common.

References

  1. 1 2 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  2. ↑ 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
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