庸 (yōng) is a Chinese character meaning “ordinary”. It is written from 广 (wide; dotted cliff radical) and 肀 (brush-holding hand (top of 聿)) and 用 (to use; to employ), one enclosing the other, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “mediocre”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
广 + 肀 + 用
Enclosing structure
- 广 wide; dotted cliff radical · guǎng unknown
- 肀 brush-holding hand (top of 聿) · yù unknown
- 用 to use; to employ · yòng unknown
Structure from: 现代简化字形拆分（hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：0-2 广 / 3-5 肀 / 6-10 用；肀 与 用 共用末笔中竖，按笔顺归入 用）；不断言历史构形
Memory aid
Under a wide roof (广), a brush-hand (肀) sits over 用 “use” — just using the same brush every day, nothing special: ordinary, mediocre.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 平庸píng yōngmediocre; ordinary庸 = yōng
- 中庸zhōng yōngthe doctrine of the mean; moderate庸 = yōng
Go deeper
All readings
ordinary; mediocre
ordinary; commonplace; mediocre
平常，不高明；也指不偏不倚的常道（如“中庸”）。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 平庸píng yōngmediocre; ordinary庸 = yōng
- 中庸zhōng yōngthe doctrine of the mean; moderate庸 = yōng
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 庸 mean?
庸 (yōng) means ordinary; commonplace; mediocre.
How do you pronounce 庸?
It is pronounced yōng.
What parts is 庸 made of?
广 (wide; dotted cliff radical) and 肀 (brush-holding hand (top of 聿)) and 用 (to use; to employ), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: 现代简化字形拆分（hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：0-2 广 / 3-5 肀 / 6-10 用；肀 与 用 共用末笔中竖，按笔顺归入 用）；不断言历史构形. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 庸 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 庸?
广. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 庸?
Common ones are 平庸 and 中庸. The reading of 庸 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.