普遍
pǔbiàn · HSK 3
widespread
🌍 普 = universal/general + 遍 = all over; together: widespread everywhere
普 means general or widespread, and 遍 means everywhere or all over. Combined, 普遍 describes something common across all places or people — universal in scope.
遍 — 辶 (walk) + 扁 (flat/phonetic)
遍 is a phono-semantic compound. The 辶 radical signals motion or going, while 扁 supplies the sound (related to biǎn/biàn). The original sense of moving over an area gave rise to the modern meaning 'everywhere' or 'one time through'.