总结 (zǒngjié) — to summarize; conclusion

总结 (zǒngjié)

总结 means to review and draw conclusions from a completed process or period of work, and is one of the most commonly used words in Chinese professional, academic, and organizational life.

Meanings

1. [verb] to summarize; to review and draw conclusions; to wrap up
2. [noun] a summary; a review; a concluding assessment

Example Sentences

每学期结束时，老师都会对学生的表现作出总结。 Měi xuéqī jiéshù shí, lǎoshī dōu huì duì xuésheng de biǎoxiàn zuòchū zǒngjié. At the end of each semester, the teacher gives a summary of students' performance.

会议最后，主持人对讨论内容进行了总结。 Huìyì zuìhòu, zhǔchí rén duì tǎolùn nèiróng jìnxíngle zǒngjié. At the end of the meeting, the moderator summarized the discussion.

他写了一份详细的年度工作总结。 Tā xiěle yī fèn xiángxì de niándù gōngzuò zǒngjié. He wrote a detailed annual work summary.

这一章总结了全书的核心论点。 Zhè yī zhāng zǒngjiéle quánshū de héxīn lùndiǎn. This chapter summarizes the core arguments of the entire book.

总结经验教训是进步的重要途径。 Zǒngjié jīngyàn jiàoxùn shì jìnbù de zhòngyào tújìng. Summarizing lessons learned is an important path to progress.

她善于从失败中总结规律，不断改进。 Tā shànyú cóng shībài zhōng zǒngjié guīlǜ, bùduàn gǎijìn. She is good at summarizing patterns from failures and continually improving.

Collocations

Usage Notes

总结 implies reviewing a completed process and extracting key takeaways or conclusions. It is a staple of Chinese organizational culture: the 工作总结 (work summary) is a ubiquitous genre of professional writing in Chinese workplaces. In academic contexts, 总结 also appears at the end of papers or chapters.

Compared with 概括 (gàikuò), which focuses on condensing information into a concise form, 总结 emphasizes the retrospective nature and the drawing of lessons or conclusions. 小结 (xiǎojié) is a shorter, less formal version of 总结, often used for section summaries in documents.

Memory Hook

ZONG (总, all together/general) + JIE (结, to tie up/conclude) = to tie all the threads together at the end.