HSK 3 · Time

一般 yìbān “general” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 一般 means

  1. general
  2. ordinary
  3. common
  4. same
  5. so-so
More meanings from CC-CEDICT
  • generally

How to say 一般

  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale一yì4th tone, falling
  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale般bān1st tone, high and level

Tone change. 一 is yī on its own. Before a fourth tone it becomes yí, and before the other tones yì. Textbooks write the change in, as here. How tone changes work

一般 in a sentence

  1. 你们一般几点下班？

    Nǐmen yìbān jǐ diǎn xiàbān?

    What time do you usually finish work?

    Sentence #419801 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 我的英语水平一般。

    Wǒ de Yīngyǔ shuǐpíng yìbān.

    My English is so-so.

    Sentence #11049704 from Tatoeba

  3. 一般来说，女人活得比男人久。

    Yìbān lái shuō, nǚrén huó de bǐ nánrén jiǔ.

    Generally speaking, women live longer than men.

    Sentence #1020152 from Tatoeba

How 一般 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 一 (yī) drawn as one shape
一yīoneyì in 一般

一 is a single shape of 1 stroke. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.

Memory aidOne stroke for one, the way people once counted with rods.

The character 般 (bān) with each of its parts in a different colour
般bānsort
  • 舟boat · zhōu
  • 殳weapon · shū

How to write 一般

一 1 strokes · 般 10 strokes

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

一般 (yìbān) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 一般 (yìbān). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 一般

Words with 一

一yī · one一半yībàn · half一些yīxiē · some一点儿yìdiǎnr · a little一起yìqǐ · together第一dìyī · first一下yíxià · (after a verb) briefly一定yídìng · surely一共yígòng · altogether一样yíyàng · the same

More words: Time

其他qítā · other秋qiū · autumn突然tūrán · sudden夏xià · summer一定yídìng · surely一共yígòng · altogether一会儿yíhuìr · a while一样yíyàng · the same

FAQs

一般 (yìbān) means “general” or “ordinary”. It is an HSK 3 word.
Say it yìbān: yì with a 4th tone, then bān with a 1st tone. 一 is yī on its own. Before a fourth tone it becomes yí, and before the other tones yì. Textbooks write the change in, as here. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 一般 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type yiban with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 一般 from the suggestions. Typing yiban into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
一般 is an HSK 3 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.