How to use 总之
Earlier details，总之，summary / conclusion
总之 introduces an overall statement that gathers the point of what has been discussed. It can summarize several reasons, draw a broad conclusion from examples, or state the speaker's final position after details have been considered. The summary need not repeat every detail; its purpose is to identify what the listener should take from them as a whole.
Place 总之 at the transition into the concluding statement, often separated by a pause in speech or punctuation in writing. It can also begin a response when the earlier discussion is understood. Make sure the conclusion follows from the available material. A fresh unrelated fact does not become a summary merely because 总之 appears before it.
Examples with pinyin and English
路太远，车也少。总之，去那里不方便。
It is far away and transport is scarce. In short, getting there is inconvenient.
总之 gathers two details into an overall judgment.
我们问了三家店。总之，这里的价格差不多。
We asked at three shops. Overall, prices around here are similar.
The conclusion summarizes the information gathered.
天气好，大家都有空。总之，明天很适合出游。
The weather is good and everyone is free. All in all, tomorrow is a good day for an outing.
总之 introduces a conclusion supported by the preceding reasons.
What to remember
- Use 总之 before an overall conclusion.
- Let earlier details supply what is being summarized.
- Keep a summary distinct from a new unrelated point.
Practise the pattern
Use one example as a model. Change the people, objects or situation, keeping the grammar pattern in the same order. Read the explanation again to check how your sentence uses the construction.
Look up the grammar words
Source and editorial notes
Explanation and examples written for Laowai using the grammar curriculum as a topic reference. The original curriculum credits AllSet Learning’s Chinese Grammar Wiki as used with permission. Read the retained source credits.
Difficulty labels describe the level of the explanation; they are not official HSK placement. Send a correction with this page’s URL.