凡人 vs 普通の人 for describing ordinary people


When describing 'ordinary people' I have heard both '凡人' and '普通の人' being
used. What is the difference in meaning between these words?




In terms of what they refer to, I guess there are no big differences.

The nuance of 凡人 is negative-neutral. It means _banal_ , _ordinary_ as opposed
to _special_ , _genius_.

The nuance of 普通の人 can be negative, but more often neutral-positive. It means
_ordinary_ , _normal_ as opposed to _abnormal_.

(added) Thus calling someone 凡人 is an insult, but 普通の人 not necessarily so.
普通の人 is usually meant as a _reasonable_ person, but in some context could mean
'a guy just like any other' and be taken negatively.

* * *

For example,

  * アインシュタインの考え方は凡人とは違った. Einstein's idea was different from banal people's.

This sounds praising Einstein's brilliant idea which people cannot think of.
Here it is also possible to use 普通の人. It may mean the same, but could also
mean Einstein was lacking in common sense.

  * 普通の人は麻薬はやらない. Ordinary people don't do drugs.

Here, the speaker thinks negatively of drugs and says normal people don't do
it. Using 凡人 here would suggest the speaker thinks doing drugs is a good thing
and sounds like "ordinary people don't dare do drugs".




In terms of what they refer to, I guess there are no big differences.

The nuance of 凡人 is negative-neutral. It means _banal_ , _ordinary_ as opposed
to _special_ , _genius_.

The nuance of 普通の人 can be negative, but more often neutral-positive. It means
_ordinary_ , _normal_ as opposed to _abnormal_.

(added) Thus calling someone 凡人 is an insult, but 普通の人 not necessarily so.
普通の人 is usually meant as a _reasonable_ person, but in some context could mean
'a guy just like any other' and be taken negatively.

* * *

For example,

  * アインシュタインの考え方は凡人とは違った. Einstein's idea was different from banal people's.

This sounds praising Einstein's brilliant idea which people cannot think of.
Here it is also possible to use 普通の人. It may mean the same, but could also
mean Einstein was lacking in common sense.

  * 普通の人は麻薬はやらない. Ordinary people don't do drugs.

Here, the speaker thinks negatively of drugs and says normal people don't do
it. Using 凡人 here would suggest the speaker thinks doing drugs is a good thing
and sounds like "ordinary people don't dare do drugs".

