凡

fán

all, any, every; ordinary, common

Meaning

  • Universal / Categorical: "All," "any," "every," "generally." Used to establish a general rule, a definition, or a categorical totality.
  • Qualitative / Ordinary: "Common," "ordinary," "mundane." Describes status or nature, typically in contrast to the extraordinary, sacred, or specialized (e.g., 凡人).

Grammar and usage

  • Logical Framing: When appearing at the beginning of a phrase to set a general principle, it frequently pairs with a collective marker later in the sentence—most commonly 皆 (jiē)—to create a frame: "In all instances of X [凡], Y is the case [皆]."
  • Functional Range: Operates both as a strict mathematical quantifier ("every single one") and as an introductory discourse marker ("generally speaking" or "now, regarding...").

Distinctions

  • 凡 vs. 每 (měi): While both can be rendered as "every," 每 typically denotes frequency or repetition over time; 凡 denotes categorical totality or the establishment of a standard/law.

History and forms

  • Tang-period reading: bhiæm.
  • Variants: Semantic variants U+51E2 and U+51E3 exist as paleographic variations and do not signal a shift in meaning.

Decontextualized translator aid. This page describes plausible lexical range; it does not choose what the glyph means in a particular passage.