expression, noun
ordinary person; nobody; just a person
Used to emphasize that someone is not special, famous, or powerful; often contrasts with a notable status or role. Can be self-deprecating or dismissive depending on context.
彼は有名な作家だが、普段はただの人だ。
He's a famous writer, but normally he's just an ordinary person.
社長を辞めたら、私はただの人に戻る。
If I quit being the company president, I'll go back to being a nobody.
凡人 is a more formal, written term for an ordinary or mediocre person, while ただの人 is a colloquial phrase that emphasizes the lack of special status.
普通の人 simply means 'ordinary person' without the contrastive or dismissive nuance of ただの人, which often implies 'just a person, nothing more'.
A phrase composed of ただ (just, only) + の (possessive particle) + 人 (person). The combination literally means 'just a person' and is used idiomatically to refer to someone without special status.