HSK 6 · Adjectives

通用 tōngyòng “in common use” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 通用 means

  1. in common use
  2. universal
  3. general
  4. to use anywhere, anytime (card, ticket etc)
  5. to be used by everyone (language, textbook etc)
More meanings from CC-CEDICT
  • (of two or more things) interchangeable

How to say 通用

  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale通tōng1st tone, high and level
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale用yòng4th tone, falling

通用 in a sentence

  1. 英语现已成为世界上许多国家的通用语言了。

    Yīngyǔ xiàn yǐ chéngwéi shìjiè shàng xǔduō guójiā de tōngyòng yǔyán le.

    English has now become the common language of many countries around the world.

    Sentence #791672 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 英语是一种全世界通用的语言。

    Yīngyǔ shì yì zhǒng quán shìjiè tōngyòng de yǔyán.

    English is a language used all over the world.

    Sentence #811868 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

How 通用 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 通 (tōng) with each of its parts in a different colour
通tōngto go through
  • 甬path · tǒngSound part
  • 辶walking form of 辵 · chuòMeaning part

辶 hints at the meaning (walking); 甬 (tǒng) hints at the sound. Compare it with tōng.

The character 用 (yòng) drawn as one shape
用yòngto use; to make use of; to employ

用 is a single shape of 5 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.

How to write 通用

通 10 strokes · 用 5 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

通用 (tōngyòng) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 通用 (tōngyòng). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 通用

Words with 通

通tōng · to go through通知tōngzhī · to notify通过tōngguò · to pass through交通jiāotōng · traffic普通话pǔtōnghuà · Mandarin沟通gōutōng · to communicate通常tōngcháng · regular畅通chàngtōng · unimpeded通俗tōngsú · popular精通jīngtōng · to be proficient in

Words with 用

用yòng · to use不用búyòng · no need to有用yǒuyòng · useful常用chángyòng · commonly used信用卡xìnyòngkǎ · credit card使用shǐyòng · to use作用zuòyòng · effect利用lìyòng · to make use of应用yìngyòng · to put to use运用yùnyòng · to use

More words: Adjectives

挑剔tiāoti · fussy体面tǐmiàn · respectable挺拔tǐngbá · tall and straight通俗tōngsú · popular妥当tuǒdang · appropriate妥善tuǒshàn · appropriate外向wàixiàng · outgoing完备wánbèi · complete

FAQs

通用 (tōngyòng) means “in common use” or “universal”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it tōngyòng: tōng with a 1st tone, then yòng with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 通用 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type tongyong with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 通用 from the suggestions. Typing tongyong into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
通用 is an HSK 6 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.