Chinese word dictionary

约定俗成

yuēdìng-súchéng · established by popular usage (idiom); common usage agreement; customary convention

Practice word

Word information

Simplified约定俗成

Traditional約定俗成

Pinyinyuēdìng-súchéng

Part of speechGeneral

HSK 3.07-9

HSK 2.0Not listed

Character breakdown

Study each Hanzi separately, then return to the complete word so pronunciation, meaning, and movement stay connected.

约yuē

treaty, covenant, agreement

定dìng

to decide, to fix, to settle; to order; definite, fixed, sure

俗sú

social customs; vulgar, unrefined

成chéng

to accomplish; to become; to complete, to finish; to succeed

How to learn 约定俗成

Listen once without reading, repeat the pinyin with its tones, then write every character in sequence. Finally, recall the complete meaning instead of memorizing each character as an isolated translation.

When the word appears in a sentence, check whether its part of speech and meaning match the definition shown here. Chinese words can change nuance with context.

Related vocabulary

Words with the same characters

Compare how a familiar Hanzi changes meaning inside another word.

变成biànchéng

to change into; to turn into; to become

成绩chéngjì

achievement; performance records; grades; CL:項|项[xiang4],個|个[ge4]

决定juédìng

to decide (to do something); to resolve; decision; CL:個|个[ge4],項|项[xiang4]; certainly

完成wánchéng

to complete; to accomplish

一定yídìng

surely; certainly; necessarily; fixed; a certain (extent etc); given; particular; must

成功chénggōng

Chenggong or Chengkung town in Taitung County 臺東縣|台东县[Tai2 dong1 Xian4], southeast Taiwan; to succeed; success; successful; fruitful