总数

• Pinyin: zǒng shù
• Hanzi breakdown: 总 = 心 (heart) + 囱 (window) — overall; 数 = 娄 (weak) + 攴 (strike) — number, to count

Meaning

Total; total number; sum. The complete quantity when all individual amounts are added together.

Used in statistics, finance, and general counting contexts. Often appears with 达到 (reach) or 超过 (exceed) when reporting figures.

Examples

1. 参加活动的人员总数超过了五百人。 The total number of participants exceeded five hundred.
2. 请统计一下订单的总数。 Please tally up the total number of orders.
3. 今年销售额总数比去年增长了百分之二十。 This year's total sales increased by twenty percent compared to last year.

Usage Guide

Context: statistics, business, reports

Tone: factual

Do Say

• 会员总数已经突破一百万。(The total number of members has exceeded one million.)
• 请把这些数据的总数算出来。(Please calculate the total of these figures.)

Don't Say

• 说'苹果的总数是三个'太正式 (Using 总数 for counting just three apples sounds overly formal — simply say 三个苹果; reserve 总数 for larger quantities)

Origin & History

总 (overall, total) + 数 (number). Together they mean the overall number or sum.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal