凡 庸(ぼんよう)

ぼんよう

na-adjective

mediocre; ordinary; unremarkable

1. mediocre; ordinary; unremarkable; undistinguished

Describes a person, ability, or work that is average and lacks any outstanding qualities. Carries a negative nuance, implying disappointment at the lack of talent, originality, or distinction.

凡庸(ぼんよう)な作品(さくひん)だった。

It was a mediocre work.

彼(かれ)は決(けっ)して凡庸(ぼんよう)な人間(にんげん)ではない。

He is by no means an ordinary person.

凡庸(ぼんよう)な指導者(しどうしゃ)のもとでは、組織(そしき)は成長(せいちょう)しない。

Under a mediocre leader, an organization won't grow.

A な-adjective with a distinctly literary and formal tone. Used in writing and formal speech to critique someone or something as lacking distinction. The characters 凡(ぼん) (ordinary) and 庸(よう) (mediocre) both reinforce the sense of unremarkable averageness.

Common collocations

凡庸(ぼんよう)な才能(さいのう): mediocre talent
凡庸(ぼんよう)な政治家(せいじか): an unremarkable politician
凡庸(ぼんよう)さ: mediocrity (noun form)

Similar words

平凡(へいぼん): ordinary, common — more neutral, less critical
ありきたり: commonplace, run-of-the-mill — focuses on lack of originality
陳腐(ちんぷ): stale, hackneyed — implies something once novel that has become worn out
非凡(ひぼん): extraordinary — the antonym, using 非(ひ) (non-) prefix

Related Words

Compare: 平凡(へいぼん) (ordinary, common)

Compare: ありきたり (commonplace, run-of-the-mill)

Compare: 陳腐(ちんぷ) (stale, hackneyed)

Antonym: 非凡(ひぼん) (extraordinary)

Compare: 平凡(へいぼん)な (ordinary)

general

Added 2026.3.29 6:11 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01

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