Japanese symbol for “mediocre”
平凡
へいぼん
Romaji: heibon
ordinary; common; commonplace; mediocre
In Japanese, mediocre is 平凡, read へいぼん (heibon).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Meanings
- adj-na, n ordinary; common; commonplace; mediocre; unremarkable; undistinguished
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “mediocre”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 凡庸 | ぼんよう bon'you | mediocre; ordinary; commonplace |
| 凡 | ぼん bon | ordinary; common; mediocre |
| 余り | あまり amari | not very good; so-so; mediocre |
| 平々凡々 | へいへいぼんぼん heiheibonbon | very ordinary; mediocre; all-too-common |
| 庸劣 | ようれつ youretsu | mediocre; inferior; commonplace |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 平和 | へいわ heiwa | peace; harmony |
| 平均 | へいきん heikin | average; mean |
| 平成 | へいせい heisei | Heisei era (1989.1.8-2019.4.30) |
| 平日 | へいじつ heijitsu | weekday; ordinary days (i.e. non-holiday) |
| 平野 | へいや heiya | plain; open field |
| 公平 | こうへい kouhei | fair; impartial; just |
| 凡人 | ぼんじん bonjin | ordinary person; average person; mediocre person |
| 凡庸 | ぼんよう bon'you | mediocre; ordinary; commonplace |
See also: Chinese symbol for “mediocre”.
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.