总而言之 (zǒng ér yán zhī) — in short; in a word; in brief

Definition

A four-character written summary phrase meaning 'in short / to sum up.' It is more formal and emphatic than the shorter conjunction 总之.

phrase

in shortin a wordin brief

总而言之，。
zǒng ér yán zhī, Zhè cì lǚ xíng fēi cháng chéng gōng.
In short, this trip was very successful.
总而言之，。
zǒng ér yán zhī, Wǒ men bù néng hū shì zhè ge wèn tí.
In a word, we cannot ignore this problem.
总而言之，。
zǒng ér yán zhī, Tā de jiàn yì zhí dé rèn zhēn kǎo lǜ.
In brief, his suggestion deserves serious consideration.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 總; 总 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糸糸mìrope

Sound part声符shēngfú

悤

悤cōng總zǒng

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 總 has 糸, a rope, and 悤 as a sound part; the rope part is for binding together. This account is for 總, not for 总.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 而 is a picture of a beard.

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

The early form of 言 shows an opening and a mark indicating a location; the location is not described as the source of speech.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The shape pairs 止, a foot, with 一, a beginning place, and means to go.

Appears in