HSK 5 · Function Words
总之 zǒngzhī “in a word” in Chinese
Traditional 總之
What 总之 means
- in a word
- in short
- in brief
How to say 总之
总zǒng3rd tone, dipping
之zhī1st tone, high and level
总之 in a sentence
How 总之 is built
Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

总zǒnggeneral; overall
- 丷eight form of 八 · bā
- 口mouth · kǒu
- 心heart · xīn

之zhīhim
之 is a single shape of 3 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.
How to write 总之
总 9 strokes · 之 3 strokes
Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

Words related to 总之
Words with 总
总zǒng · always总是zǒngshì · always总结zǒngjié · to sum up总裁zǒngcái · president (of a company)总理zǒnglǐ · premier总统zǒngtǒng · president (of a country)总共zǒnggòng · altogether总算zǒngsuàn · at long last总和zǒnghé · sum总而言之zǒng'éryánzhī · in short
Words with 之
之zhī · of (formal equivalent of 的)之后zhīhòu · after之前zhīqián · before之间zhījiān · between百分之bǎifēnzhī · per cent反之fǎnzhī · conversely之际zhījì · at the time of天伦之乐tiānlúnzhīlè · family happiness后顾之忧hòugùzhīyōu · worries back home当务之急dāngwùzhījí · top priority
More words: Function Words & Grammar
FAQs
总之 (zǒngzhī) means “in a word” or “in short”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it zǒngzhī: zǒng with a 3rd tone, then zhī with a 1st tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 总之 is written 總之. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type zongzhi with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 总之 from the suggestions. Typing zongzhi into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
总之 is an HSK 5 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.
Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.