HSK · Level 30
135 words
Chinese word
一般来说
Pronunciation
Pinyinyī bān lái shuō
Meaning
- adverbgenerally speaking
Example
一般来说，孩子们喜欢玩手机。yì bān lái shuō hái zi men xǐ huān wán shǒu jī
Generally speaking, children like playing on their phones.
More examples
一般来说，老人需要更多的休息。yì bān lái shuō lǎo rén xū yào gèng duō de xiū xī
Generally speaking, older people need more rest.
Core concept
A speaker's broad-view lens for presenting what tends to hold across a group or situation.
Common phrases
一般来说 人们yì bān lái shuō rén men
generally speaking, people ___
一般来说 会yì bān lái shuō huì
generally tend to ___
一般来说 比较yì bān lái shuō bǐ jiào
generally be relatively ___
Similar words
一般yì bān: Describes a fact or pattern that holds for many people or cases.
通常tōng cháng: Indicates that something happens in the usual way or at the usual times.
总的来说zǒng de lái shuō: Signals a concise statement of the overall conclusion.
总体上zóng tǐ shàng: Presents the large-scale pattern of a situation without focusing on details.
Definition in Chinese
用于引入对整体情况的总括性判断，常置于句首或句中以提示说话视角。yòng yú yǐn rù duì zhéng tǐ qíng kuàng de zǒng kuò xìng pàn duàn cháng zhì yú jù shǒu huò jù zhōng yǐ tí shì shuō huà shì jiǎo
Word origin
一般 (yībān, "general") supplies the broad scope, while 来说 (láishuō, "speaking of") preserves the idea of viewing a topic from a stated angle, and the combination became a common framing expression.
Usage tips
- English frequency adverbs often sit next to the verb, but this Chinese expression more often frames an entire statement, including a judgment about a group, habit, or situation.
Other meanings
- usuallyadverb
Opposites
- 具体而言jù tǐ ér yánspecifically speakingadverb
- 个别地gè bié dìindividuallyadverb
Related words
- 一般yì bāngeneraladjective
- 一般地yì bān dìgenerallyadverb
- 一般性yì bān xìnggeneralitynoun