这些形容词均含有“普通的、普遍的”之意。
common : 多用于指物，侧重很常见，不稀奇。
- It's quite common to see couples who dress alike.
夫妻穿着相似是司空见惯的事儿。 - "Smith" is a very common name in Britain.
“史密斯”是英国很常见的姓氏。
ordinary : 用于物，指每天发生，十分平淡无奇；用于人，指无特别之处，很一般。
- an ordinary neighbourhood
普通的街区 - Readers of the magazine said they wanted more stories about ordinary people and fewer stories about the rich and famous.
这本杂志的读者说他们希望多登一些普通人的故事，少登一些关于富人和名人的事情。 - Her last concert appearance in Britain was no ordinary (= a very special) performance.
她在英国的最后一场音乐会不同凡响。
commonplace : 强调缺少新意。
- Electric cars are increasingly commonplace.
电动汽车越来越普及了。 - Computers are now commonplace in primary classrooms.
计算机如今在小学教室里很普遍。 - Foreign vacations have become commonplace.
去国外度假已经变得很平常了。
general : 语气强于common，侧重大多如此，很少有例外情况。
- The general feeling is that justice was not served.
普遍的看法是这样做没有达成公平合理。 - There is general concern about rising crime rates.
人们普遍对犯罪率上升感到担忧。 - My general impression of the place was good.
我对这个地方总的印象很好。 - The talk is intended to be of general interest (= of interest to most people).
这次商谈是要探讨大家普遍感兴趣的话题。 - Rain will become more general in the southeast during the afternoon.
降雨范围将在下午进一步扩展到东南地区。
usual : 指常见常闻和常做的事或举动，强调惯常性。
- I went to bed at my usual time.
我和平常一样准时上床睡觉。 - There was more rainfall than usual this summer in the mountain areas.
山区今年夏天的降雨量比往年多。 - You'll find the cutlery in its usual place.
你可以在平常放餐具的地方找到刀叉餐具。 - Terry was, as usual, slow to respond.
泰瑞一向反应迟钝。 - The library is open for business as usual despite the snowstorm.
尽管有雪暴，图书馆还是照常开门。
popular : 指适应大众爱好、需要，为大家所公认或接受。
- popular music/entertainment/culture
流行音乐／大众化娱乐／通俗文化 - The issue was virtually ignored by the popular press.
这件事实际上被通俗报刊忽视了。 - The popular myth is that air travel is more dangerous than travel by car or bus.
一个普遍的错误之说是乘飞机比开车和乘公共汽车都要危险。
universal与general同义，但语气较强，侧重对每个人或事物都适用，根本没有例外。
- a universal truth
普遍真理 - Food, like sex, is a subject of almost universal interest.
像性一样，食物几乎也是人们普遍感兴趣的话题。 - The new reforms have not met with universal approval within the party.
新的改革措施在政府内部还没有得到一致赞同。
