俗 (sú): custom, convention, popular
俗 (sú) is a Chinese character meaning “custom.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 亻 (semantic) and 谷 (phonetic). It ranks #1346 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 俗 person. Its radical form 亻 (person) appears in many related characters such as 人 (rén, person), 什 (shén, what), 今 (jīn, now).
Definitions
- custom
- convention
- popular
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 俗 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 俗
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 粗俗 | cū sú | vulgar |
| 愤世嫉俗 | fèn shì jí sú | to be cynical |
| 俗气 | sú qì | tacky |
| 低俗 | dī sú | vulgar |
| 世俗 | shì sú | profane |
| 庸俗 | yōng sú | vulgar |
| 俗话说 | sú huà shuō | as the proverb says |
| 俗套 | sú tào | conventional patterns |
| 通俗 | tōng sú | common |
| 俗语 | sú yǔ | common saying |
| 不俗 | bù sú | impressive |
| 俗称 | sú chēng | commonly referred to as |
| 俗话 | sú huà | common saying |
| 入乡随俗 | rù xiāng suí sú | When you enter a village, follow the local customs (idiom) |
| 惊世骇俗 | jīng shì hài sú | universally shocking |
俗 appears in 79 compound words: 25 as the first character, 54 as the last, and 20 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 俗 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (18)
to conform to no conventional pattern; to depart from convention; to be unconventional or offbeat
to conform to no conventional pattern; to depart from convention; to be unconventional or offbeat
Showing 12 of 18 idioms containing 俗.
Example Sentences
这位老俗虽然年过八旬,但身体依然硬朗。
zhè wèi lǎo sú suī rán nián guò bā xún , dàn shēn tī yī rán yìng lǎng .
Though over eighty years old, this old man remains in robust health.
...染!“两女争夫”影片疯传 丑闻揭发后秒还俗神隐
. . . rǎn ! liǎng nǚ zhēng fū yǐng piàn fēng chuán chǒu wén jiē fā hòu miǎo hái sú shén yǐn
... Dye!" Two women fighting for husbands" The film went viral, and after the scandal was exposed, it was still secular and hidden
让AI订酒店、买电影票成新“民俗”
ràng A I dìng jiǔ diàn , mǎi diàn yǐng piào chéng xīn mín sú
Let AI book hotels and buy movie tickets into a new "folk custom"
《天机试炼场》粗俗发言开殉职案玩笑?全炫茂挨轰急灭火
tiān jī shì liàn chǎng cū sú fā yán kāi 殉 zhí àn wán xiào ? quán xuàn mào āi hōng jí miè huǒ
"Tianji Proving Ground" vulgar speech joke about the death of the duty? Quan Xuanmao was bombarded and quickly extinguished the fire
...大槐树:家庭亲子游成主流 根祖文化激活年俗新体验
. . . dà huái shù : jiā tíng qīn zǐ yóu chéng zhǔ liú gēn zǔ wén huà jī huó nián sú xīn tǐ yàn
... Big locust tree: Family parent-child travel has become the mainstream, and the root ancestor culture activates a new experience of New Year's customs
长城脚下天天有精彩,热闹至初七!怀柔民俗展演引爆新..
cháng chéng jiǎo xià tiān tiān yǒu jīng cǎi , rè nào zhì chū qī ! huái róu mín sú zhǎn yǎn yǐn bào xīn . .
There is excitement at the foot of the Great Wall every day, and it is lively until the seventh day of the first month! Huairou folk performance detonated a new:
根据习俗,新娘应该循规蹈矩。
Gēnjù xísú, xīnniáng yīnggāi xúnguīdǎojǔ.
According to custom, the bride should be compliant.
国家不同,习俗各异。
Guójiā bùtóng, xísú gè yì.
Social customs vary from country to country.
庆祝春节俗称过年。
Qìngzhù Chūnjié súchēng guònián.
Celebrating Spring Festival is commonly referred to as 'passing the year'.
生活从不会停止,但世俗生活却会。
Shēnghuó cóngbù huì tíngzhǐ, dàn shìsú shēnghuó què huì.
Life never ends but earthly life does.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 俗 (sú)?
Is 俗 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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