What does 凡 mean in Chinese?

凡 (fán) means "ordinary; commonplace; mundane; temporal; of the material world (as opposed to supernatural or immortal levels); every; all; whatever; altogether; gist; outline; note of Chinese musical scale" in Chinese.

How do you pronounce 凡?

凡 is pronounced "fán" in Mandarin Chinese. The tone number is 2.

What HSK level is 凡?

凡 is not part of the HSK vocabulary lists. It may be a specialized or advanced word.

What words contain the character 凡?

Common words with 凡 include 不凡 (out of the ordinary), 凡是 (each and every), 不同凡响 (lit. not a common chord (idiom); outstanding), 下凡 (to descend to the world (of immortals)), 伊凡 (Ivan (Russian name)).

How do you write 凡?

You can practice writing 凡 using our stroke order tool.

凡 (fán), ordinary

凡

fán

ordinary; commonplace; mundane; temporal

Character Breakdown

Radical: 几 (no. 16)

View stroke order →

Definitions

ordinary
commonplace
mundane
temporal
of the material world (as opposed to supernatural or immortal levels)
every
all
whatever
altogether
gist
outline
note of Chinese musical scale

Example Sentences

凡人都会犯错，要学会原谅。

Fánrén dōu huì fàncuò

Ordinary people all make mistakes

Words Containing 凡

Word	Pinyin	Meaning	HSK
不凡	bù fán	out of the ordinary
凡是	fán shì	each and every	HSK 6
不同凡响	bù tóng fán xiǎng	lit. not a common chord (idiom); outstanding
下凡	xià fán	to descend to the world (of immortals)
伊凡	Yī fán

Related Words

凡俗(fán sú)· lay (as opposed to clergy)

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音(yīn)· sound

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音级(yīn jí)· a note on a musical scale

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俗世奇人(sú shì qí rén)· Extraordinary people in our ordinary world, short stories by novelist Feng Jicai 馮驥才|冯骥才[Feng2 Ji4 cai2]

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HSK levels

New HSK exam: Not tested
HSK 2.0: Not listed
HSK Lord study list: HSK 7 list

New exam levels follow the CLEC syllabus released 15 November 2025. The first official sitting is announced for 13 December 2026. HSK 7-9 is one advanced band.

Not on the new exam

凡 is not on the new HSK syllabus. Build the words the exam does test.

HSK Lord starts you at your level and schedules each review right before you would forget the word. Free to start.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Reviewed by RJ Murray, Founder, HSK Lord.