Chinese word

总

Pronunciation

Pinyinzǒng

Meaning

  • adverbalways

Example

他总迟到。tā zǒng chí dào

He is always late.

Illustration for 总 (always)

More examples

他总忘记带伞。tā zǒng wàng jì dài sǎn

He always forgets to bring an umbrella.

Core concept

A repeated pattern seen across many occasions.

Common phrases

  • 总忘记zǒng wàng jì

    always forget

  • 总是zǒng shì

    always

Similar words

总是zǒng shì: Expresses a habitual pattern that holds across many occasions, often translated as always.
经常jīng cháng: Describes something that happens frequently at separate times.
一直yì zhí: Shows that an action or state continues throughout a period of time.

Definition in Chinese

用作副词，放在动词或形容词前，表示经常、往往或通常如此，也可表示一种普遍倾向。yòng zuò fù cí fàng zài dòng cí huò xíng róng cí qián biǎo shì jīng cháng wáng wǎng huò tōng cháng rú cǐ yě kě biǎo shì yì zhǒng pǔ biàn qīng xiàng

Word origin

The core idea of 总 (zǒng, "whole; total") is bringing separate things into one whole, which extends to judging a pattern across many occasions as generally true.

Usage tips

  • In everyday complaints, this word often marks a recurring pattern rather than a literal claim about every single case, so English always can sound less absolute in context.

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word