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凡庸 (ぼんよう, bonyou) Japanese meaning: mediocre | Kotomora
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彼かれ
の
作さく
品ひん
は
凡ぼん
庸よう
で
、
特とく
に
印いん
象しょう
に
残のこ
ら
なかっ
た
。
His work was mediocre and didn't leave a particular impression.
I don't want to end up as an ordinary person.
Usage patterns 凡ぼん 庸よう な 〈 人ひと 〉 an unremarkable/mediocre person
He was an unremarkable, mediocre man.
凡ぼん 庸よう な 〈 物もの 〉 a mediocre work/piece (of art, writing, etc.)
The critics described this novel as a mediocre work.
凡ぼん 庸よう に 陥おちい る to fall into mediocrity
His artistic style gradually fell into mediocrity.
Kanji 凡 commonplace, ordinary, mediocre 庸 commonplace, ordinary, employment Related words 平凡 is a neutral word for 'ordinary' or 'average', while 凡庸 carries a more critical tone suggesting a lack of talent or distinction.
陳腐 emphasizes staleness or being hackneyed (like a cliché), while 凡庸 focuses more broadly on being unremarkable or lacking distinction.
月並み describes something as trite or unoriginal (often about ideas or expressions), whereas 凡庸 is a broader term for mediocrity in ability or quality.
凡庸 stresses mediocrity or lack of distinction more strongly than the plainer 凡.
Etymology Composed of 凡 (mediocre, ordinary) and 庸 (common, ordinary). The combination reinforces the meaning of being unremarkable or average. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the kanji are conventionally associated with mediocrity.
