総 (zǒng) - Total, overall, general & to sum up

総Tone 3

zǒng ｜ 14 strokes ｜ radical:

志

総 · zǒng

Total, overall, general;

to sum up;

in all cases;

always.

Total, overall, generalto sum upin all cases

Usage highlights

Total amountGeneral managerOverall planGeneral summaryPresidentGeneral election

Synonyms

  • 总— Simplified Chinese form with same meaning
  • 全— whole, complete, entire
  • 统— to unite, to command, overall

Antonyms

  • 分— to divide, part, fraction
  • 别— separate, different
  • 各— each, every (individual rather than collective)

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • The total amount is 100 dollars (総額).
  • He is the general manager (総経理).
  • We need an overall plan (総合計画).
  • The president gave a general summary (総括).

Collocations

  • Total amount(総額)
  • General manager(総経理)
  • Overall plan(総合計画)
  • General summary(総括)
  • President(総統)
  • General election(総選挙)

Idioms

  • To sum up comprehensively(総括的にまとめる)
  • Overall consideration(総合的な考慮)
  • General mobilization(総動員)
  • Grand total(総計)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • This character is primarily used in Japanese kanji; in modern Chinese, the simplified form 总 is used.
  • In Japanese, it frequently appears in business and organizational contexts to denote leadership or comprehensive scope.
  • The character combines the silk radical (糸) with 囱 (window), suggesting the idea of gathering threads together.

FAQ