总而言之
总而言之 (zǒng ér yán zhī) literally means “summed up and put in words” and expresses “to sum up everything discussed”. This idiom is used when describing situations involving relationships and character.
Also searched as: zong er yan zhi, zong er yan zhi,总而言之 meaning, 总而言之 in english
To sum up everything discussed
Pronunciation: zǒng ér yán zhī Literal meaning: Summed up and put in words
Origin & Usage
Summing up (总) and thereby (而) putting it into words (言之). Unlike most of its neighbours this has no image in it at all — it is a piece of classical connective tissue that hardened into a set phrase, and its whole job is to signal that what follows is the conclusion. That makes it genuinely useful to a learner: it belongs to the same family as 换句话说 and 由此可见, the discourse markers that hold formal Chinese together, and it is at home in essays and speeches.
Examples
English: "In summary, the research demonstrates three key findings about consumer behavior"
Chinese: 总而言之，这项研究揭示了关于消费者行为的三个关键发现
Related Chinese Idioms
Similar idioms about relationships & character
言不由衷
yán bù yóu zhōng
Speak without meaning it
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口干舌燥
kǒu gān shé zào
Exhausted from excessive talking
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察言观色
chá yán guān sè
Read between lines
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不言而喻
bù yán ér yù
Self-evident requiring no explanation
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言而有信
yán ér yǒu xìn
To be true to one's word
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追本溯源
zhuī běn sù yuán
Trace back to source
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众口铄金
zhòng kǒu shuò jīn
Repeated by enough people, a falsehood passes for truth
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胸有丘壑
xiōng yǒu qiū hè
Have great vision
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Frequently Asked Questions
What does 总而言之 mean in English?
总而言之 (zǒng ér yán zhī) literally translates to “Summed up and put in words” and is used to express “To sum up everything discussed”. This Chinese idiom belongs to the Relationships & Character category.
When is 总而言之 used?
Situation: In summary, the research demonstrates three key findings about consumer behavior
What is the pinyin for 总而言之?
The pinyin pronunciation for 总而言之 is “zǒng ér yán zhī”.
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