Japanese word

全体

Pronunciation

Romajizentai

Meaning

  • nounwhole

Example

まず、全体を見てください。ma zu zen tai o mi te ku da sa i

Please look at the whole thing first.

Illustration for 全体 (whole)

More examples

クラス全体でゲームをします。ku ra su zen tai de gē mu o shi ma su

The whole class plays a game.

全体を見てから、細かい点を確認します。zen tai o mi te ka ra koma ka i ten o kaku nin shi ma su

I check the details after looking at the whole.

Core concept

It presents all parts of a thing together as a single complete scope.

Common phrases

  • 全体を見るzen tai o mi ru

    look at the whole

  • 全体の流れzen tai no naga re

    overall flow

  • 全体としてzen tai to shi te

    as a whole

Similar words

全部zenbu: All the parts, items, or members of a thing or group.
全てsubete: Every person or thing in a specified group or range.

Definition in Japanese

ある物事に含まれるすべての部分を合わせたもの。a ru mono goto ni fuku ma re ru su be te no bu bun o a wa se ta mo no

Word origin

全体 (zentai, "whole") is a Sino-Japanese compound of 全 (zen, "all") and 体 (tai, "body"), giving the sense of a complete body.

Usage tips

  • The phrase クラス全体 (kurasu zentai) shows that 全体 (zentai) can describe a complete group as well as a complete object.

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word