平へい均きん

also: へいぎん

へ

い

き

ん

Common wordJLPTN3Freq.FrequencyTop 2,000

Meanings

noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru', transitive verb

average; mean

The common modern sense: a statistical average or mean. As 平均する, it can mean to average a set of values.

クラスの平へい均きんは七なな十じゅう二に点てんだった。
The class average was 72 points.
三みっ日か間かんの売うり上

あげ

を

平へい

均きん

する

と

、

一いち

日にち

十じゅう

万まん

円えん

に

なる

。

Averaging the sales over three days, it comes to 100,000 yen per day.

noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru', intransitive verb

balance; equilibrium

Less common in modern everyday Japanese than バランス or 均衡. Used for physical or abstract balance, including set-like expressions such as 平均を保つ or 平均を失う, and intransitive 平均する for being balanced.

強つよい風かぜで体からだの平へい均きんを失うしなった。
I lost my balance in the strong wind.
左さ右ゆうの重おもさが平へい均きんしているので、台だいは傾かたむかない。
The weights on the left and right are balanced, so the stand does not tilt.

Written forms

平均Usage100%
- へいきん
  Standard modern spelling and reading; high-priority form.
- へいぎん
  out-dated reading
  Obsolete reading given; useful mainly for older texts or lookup, not for modern pronunciation.
へいぎん
out-dated reading

Kanji

平even, flat, peace
均level, average

Similar words

平へい均きん値ち
A more explicitly mathematical word for an average value; 平均 is broader and also used in everyday phrases such as 平均年齢.
中ちゅう央おう値ち
Means median, not mean; useful when contrasting statistical measures.
均きん衡こう
Means balance or equilibrium and is the more natural modern word for the second, less common sense of 平均.
バランス
Everyday loanword for physical or abstract balance; usually more natural than 平均 for keeping or losing balance.

Etymology

Sino-Japanese compound 平均, with 平 suggesting flat, even, or level and 均 suggesting equal or uniform. The spelling is conventionally associated with making quantities even, hence average and, more rarely, balance.