庸 (yōng): ordinary, to use
庸 (yōng) is a Chinese character meaning “ordinary.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 广 (structural). It ranks #2102 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 庸 is a compound character. Its radical form 广 (shelter) appears in many related characters such as 床 (chuáng, bed), 店 (diàn, shop), 广 (guǎng, wide, broad).
Definitions
- ordinary
- to use
Etymology & Origin
pictophoneticThis character is a compound form.
Decomposition: ⿸广⿱彐用 (layout: surround-from-upper-left)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 庸 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 平庸 | píng yōng | mediocre |
| 庸俗 | yōng sú | vulgar |
| 庸医 | yōng yī | quack |
| 附庸 | fù yōng | vassal |
| 庸人 | yōng rén | mediocre person |
| 无庸 | wú yōng | variant of 毋庸[wu2 yong1] |
| 中庸 | zhōng yōng | golden mean (Confucianism) |
| 庸才 | yōng cái | mediocrity |
| 毋庸 | wú yōng | no need for |
| 庸庸碌碌 | yōng yōng lù lù | ordinary |
| 昏庸 | hūn yōng | muddleheaded |
| 庸碌 | yōng lù | mediocre |
| 中庸之道 | zhōng yōng zhī dào | doctrine of the mean |
| 平庸之恶 | píng yōng zhī è | (philosophy) banal evil |
| 登庸人才 | dēng yōng rén cái | to employ talent (idiom) |
庸 appears in 25 compound words: 40 as the first character, 36 as the last, and 24 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 庸 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (6)
to put on an air of pretension despite one's own lack of cultural knowledge
to put on an air of pretension despite one's own lack of cultural knowledge
Example Sentences
庸字的写法很特别，让我印象深刻。
yōng zì de xiě fǎ hěn tè bié , ràng wǒ yìn xiàng shēn kè .
The character "庸" has a very distinctive way of being written, which left a deep impression on me.
从金庸的“情”到日本的“绊”──襄阳古城墙下的...
cóng jīn yōng de qíng dào rì běn de bàn 襄 yáng gǔ chéng qiáng xià de . . .
From Jin Yong’s “Affection” to Japan’s “Kizuna” — Under the Ancient City Walls of Xiangyang...
毋庸置疑，汤姆毒害了玛丽。
Wúyōngzhìyí, Tāngmǔ dúhài le Mǎlì.
There's no doubt Tom poisoned Mary.
他无庸置疑是个伟大的艺术家。
Tā wúyōng zhìyí shì gè wěidà de yìshùjiā.
It is clear that he is a great artist.
在15世纪，琉球王国是中国帝国的附庸国。
Zài 15 shìjì, Liúqiúwángguó shì Zhōngguó dìguó de fùyōng guó.
During the 15th century, the Ryukyu Kingdom was a tributary state of Imperial China.
这毋庸置疑是我吃过的最糟糕的一顿饭。
Zhè wúyōng zhìyí shì wǒ chī guo de zuì zāogāo de yī dùn fàn.
This is unequivocally the worst meal I have ever had.
凡事行中庸之道。
Fánshì xíng zhōngyōngzhīdào.
Moderation in all things.
Character Family
广 Radical Family — Characters sharing the shelter radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 庸 (yōng) mean in Chinese?
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What characters sound the same as 庸 (yōng)?
Is 庸 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 庸 with real-time feedback
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