HSK · Level 83
45 words
Chinese word
总而言之
Pronunciation
Pinyinzǒng ér yán zhī
Meaning
- idiomin short
Example
他的解释太复杂，总而言之我们不同意。tā de jiě shì tài fù zá zǒng ér yán zhī wǒ men bù tóng yì
His explanation is too complicated. In short, we disagree.
More examples
经过讨论，总而言之，我们认为这个计划可行。jīng guò tǎo lùn zǒng ér yán zhī wǒ men rèn wéi zhè ge jì huà kě xíng
After discussion, in short, we think this plan is feasible.
Core concept
A signpost gathers earlier points and turns them into one clear takeaway.
Common phrases
总而言之，我们认为zǒng ér yán zhī wǒ men rèn wéi
in short, we think
Similar words
总之zǒng zhī: Wraps up the preceding points with a concise conclusion.
简而言之jiǎn ér yán zhī: Expresses the conclusion of a long explanation as briefly as possible.
归根结底guī gēn jié dǐ: Points to the root cause or deepest conclusion after weighing the relevant factors.
总的来说zǒng de lái shuō: Describes the situation as a whole or states its general trend.
Definition in Chinese
表示对前述内容作出简短总结并提出核心结论的成语，语气偏正式且常见于书面或正式发言中。biǎo shì duì qián shù nèi róng zuò chū jián duǎn zǒng jié bìng tí chū hé xīn jié lùn de chéng yǔ yǔ qì piān zhèng shì qiě cháng jiàn yú shū miàn huò zhèng shì fā yán zhōng
Word origin
The components 总 (zǒng, "overall") + 而 (ér, "and") + 言 (yán, "speak") + 之 (zhī, "it") frame the next statement as a compact account of everything just discussed.
Usage tips
- It usually comes before the sentence that gives the takeaway, making it a useful signal that the next clause contains the point to remember.
Other meanings
- in conclusionidiom
- in other wordsidiom