总 (zǒng) - always & invariably

总Tone 3

zǒng ｜ 9 strokes ｜ radical:

志

总 · zǒng

always;

invariably;

total;

overall;

chief;

general;

in all cases;

to assemble;

to gather

alwaysinvariablytotal

Usage highlights

alwaystotal amountgeneral managersummaryassemblygeneral headquarters

Synonyms

Antonyms

  • 分— to divide; part; separate
  • 个别— individual; specific

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • He is always late (他总是迟到).
  • The total amount is 100 dollars (总额是100美元).
  • She is the general manager (她是总经理).
  • In summary, we need to improve (总而言之，我们需要改进).

Collocations

  • always(总是)
  • total amount(总额)
  • general manager(总经理)
  • summary(总结)
  • assembly(总装)
  • general headquarters(总司令部)

Idioms

  • In a word; to sum up(总而言之)
  • The overall situation(总揽全局)
  • To assemble troops(总兵)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • Originally derived from the concept of gathering or bundling things together, later extended to mean 'total' or 'overall'.
  • In modern Chinese, it is commonly used in business and organizational titles to denote leadership or comprehensive scope.
  • The character appears in many compound words related to management, accounting, and summary.

FAQ