正常
zhèngcháng
The English word "normal" is translated into Chinese as 正常 (zhèngcháng).
正常 is a common and straightforward way to say "normal" in Chinese with a neutral tone.
Meaning: usual, ordinary (adj)
What does it mean word for word?
The word 正常 is composed of 正 (zhèng), meaning 'upright' or 'correct' and 常 (cháng), meaning 'constant' or 'frequent'.
Which one should you use?
While 正常 means 'normal' in terms of being correct or expected, 平常 (píngcháng) is used to describe things that are 'ordinary' or 'commonplace' in frequency.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
Because 正常 is an adjective, you often use the adverb 很 (hěn) before it instead of the verb 'to be' to express 'is normal'.
How do you pronounce it?
zhèngcháng
Did you know?
- The character 正 is used in traditional Chinese counting to create a tally of five marks, where the final horizontal stroke completes the 'correct' set.
- In modern internet slang, the phrase 正常 is sometimes used sarcastically to imply that a weird behavior is typical for a specific person or group.
- The character 正 also describes 'positive' numbers in mathematics, contrasting with 'negative' numbers.
Examples in context
- 我看這不正常。This doesn't seem normal to me.This sentence is useful for expressing that something does not seem normal.Tatoeba #6111814 by verdastelo9604, translation #2400088 by CK
- 不要因为吃得太多而扰乱胃的正常消化。Don't eat too much and disrupt the stomach's normal digestion process.This sentence is useful for discussing a normal biological process.Tatoeba #3580020 by CLARET, translation #3622633 by weihaiping
- 老王身体检查的结果别的方面都挺正常，就是血压有点高。In other aspects, the results of Laowang's health examination were all quite normal, it was just that his blood pressure was a bit high.This sentence is useful for describing medical test results that are normal.Tatoeba #717373 by Yashanti, translation #717374 by eastasiastudent
- 他的身体状况恢复正常了。His physical condition has returned to normal.
- 她的一天过得很平常。Her day was very normal (typical).
- 别闹了，正经点！Stop messing around, be serious!
- 这家餐厅的菜品一般，没有什么特别的。The dishes in this restaurant are normal, nothing special.
- 13 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are discussing a sudden change in a mutual friend's behavior.
- 俊杰 Junjie他最近的表现不太正常。Tā zuìjìn de biǎoxiàn bù tài zhèngcháng.His recent behavior is not very normal.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen是吗？他平时很安静的。Shì ma? Tā píngshí hěn ānjìng de.Really? He is usually very quiet.
- 俊杰 Junjie没错，这很不正常。Méi cuò, zhè hěn bù zhèngcháng.Exactly, this is very abnormal.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen也许他遇到了什么事。Yěxǔ tā yù dào le shénme shì.Maybe he ran into some trouble.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “normal” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
