归纳 (guīnà) — to summarize; inductive reasoning

归纳 (guīnà)

归纳 means to bring together specific observations or facts and derive a general conclusion from them, corresponding to the concept of inductive reasoning in logic and academic work.

Meanings

1. [verb] to summarize; to sum up; to generalize from examples
2. [noun] induction; inductive reasoning; a summary

Example Sentences

老师要求学生归纳本章的主要内容。 Lǎoshī yāoqiú xuésheng guīnà běn zhāng de zhǔyào nèiróng. The teacher asked students to summarize the main content of this chapter.

科学研究通常采用归纳法来发现规律。 Kēxué yánjiū tōngcháng cǎiyòng guīnàfǎ lái fāxiàn guīlǜ. Scientific research commonly uses inductive methods to discover patterns.

他归纳出了这类问题的三个共同特征。 Tā guīnà chūle zhè lèi wèntí de sān gè gòngtóng tèzhēng. He identified three common features of this type of problem.

通过归纳大量案例，研究者提出了新的理论。 Tōngguò guīnà dàliàng ànlì, yánjiū zhě tíchūle xīn de lǐlùn. By summarizing a large number of cases, the researcher proposed a new theory.

请将你的观察结果归纳成几个要点。 Qǐng jiāng nǐ de guānchá jiéguǒ guīnà chéng jǐ gè yàodiǎn. Please summarize your observations into a few key points.

归纳推理从具体事例出发，得出一般性结论。 Guīnà tuīlǐ cóng jùtǐ shìlì chūfā, dédé yīnbānxìng jiélùn. Inductive reasoning starts from specific examples and arrives at general conclusions.

Collocations

Usage Notes

归纳 is the Chinese equivalent of "induction" in logic: reasoning from the specific to the general. It contrasts with 演绎 (yǎnyì), which is deductive reasoning (from the general to the specific). In everyday academic use, 归纳 often means simply "to summarize" or "to organize into categories."

It pairs naturally with 总结 (zǒngjié): the combination 归纳总结 is a common phrase meaning to comprehensively summarize and draw conclusions. At B2, learners should be able to use 归纳 in both the logical/philosophical sense and the practical sense of organizing information.

Memory Hook

GUI (归, to return/group together) + NA (纳, to bring in/accept) = to bring all specific things back together into one group.