The kanji 凡 (pronounced *bon* in Japanese) primarily conveys the idea of "ordinary," "common," or "general." It often suggests a lack of exceptional qualities or abilities. It can also imply "all," "every," or "total" in certain contexts.

・On-yomi (音読み): ボン (bon) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): None, or rarely used in isolation as a *kun-yomi*.

⚫︎凡人 Translation: Ordinary person; commoner. ⚫︎凡例 Translation: Legend (as in a map legend, a set of explanations). ⚫︎凡庸 Translation: Mediocrity; commonplaceness; ordinariness.

The kanji 凡 is a pictophonetic compound (形声文字; *keisei moji*). It is composed of a simplified form of the character 凡 (which originally depicted a container) and the phonetic component 几. The phonetic component 几 is included to give an approximation of the sound, ボン. The inclusion of 几 likely also added to the character’s meaning related to a container or enclosure that can hold anything which fits the concept of general or all-encompassing. The character’s development has made it convey a more general or inclusive meaning.