What is the Kanji for "General" and "Total"?

If you are wondering what is the Japanese Kanji for "General" and "Total", you've come to the right place!

The Japanese Kanji for "General" and "Total" is "総".

This kanji has 1 reading:

Its onyomi reading is "Sou".

kunyomi readings are based on the pronunciation of native Japanese words, and onyomi readings are based on the Chinese pronunciation of the character.

If you visually breakdown this kanji, you can see is made up of 2 parts:

The kanji "糸" means "Thread" and can be read as "Ito" and "Shi". And The component "忩" .

Now, let's make sure you understand this kanji the other way around too.

What does the kanji "総" mean in japanese?

"総" means "General" and "Total".

Japanese School Students learn this kanji in Fifth Grade, while foreigners may learn this kanji in preparation for the JLPT N2 exam.

Here are some words that use this kanji:

総: "General". The prefix '総 (そう)' means 'general' or 'comprehensive'. It is used to indicate that something is overall, total, or comprehensive in nature. For example: 総会 (そうかい) - general meeting, 総額 (そうがく) - total amount, 総合 (そうごう) - comprehensive.

総会: "General meeting". The Japanese noun '総会 (そうかい)' refers to a 'general meeting', typically of the members of an organization or company. This meeting is held regularly, often once a year, to discuss and decide on important matters such as budgets, policies, and the election of officers. '総会' is an important event in the life of an organization, where all stakeholders come together to collectively make decisions. For example: The annual general meeting will be held next month - (年次総会は来月開催されます).

総理: "Prime minister". The Japanese noun '総理 (そうり)' means 'prime minister'. This term refers to the head of government and the leader of the cabinet in Japan. The '総理' is the most powerful political position in the country and is responsible for overseeing the activities of the executive branch. For example: The prime minister gave a speech today - (総理は今日演説を行いました).

総務: "General affairs". The Japanese noun '総務 (そうむ)' refers to the general management, administration or coordination of an organization's overall affairs and operations. This term is commonly used to describe the department or personnel responsible for overseeing an organization's internal functions such as human resources, accounting, facility management, and other general support services. For example: The general affairs department handles all the company's administrative tasks - (総務部門は会社のすべての管理業務を扱っています).

総額: "Total amount". The Japanese noun '総額 (そうがく)' refers to the complete or overall monetary value of something. It is used to describe the full sum of a bill, cost, or expenditure. For example: The total amount of the order was 5000 yen - (注文の総額は5000円でした).

総合: "Comprehensive". The verbal noun '総合 (そうごう)' means 'comprehensive'. It refers to something that combines or integrates multiple elements or aspects into a unified whole. This word is often used to describe integrated systems, programs, or approaches that take a broad, holistic view rather than focusing on a single component. For example: The company's comprehensive sustainability strategy - (同社の総合的な持続可能性戦略). The comprehensive health care plan - (総合的な医療保険計画).

総数: "Total". The Japanese noun '総数 (そうすう)' means 'total'. It is used to refer to the combined or overall amount, number, or quantity of something. For example: The total number of students in the school is 500 - (学校の生徒の総数は500人です). The total sales for this quarter were very high - (今期の総売上が非常に高かった).

総裁: "President". The Japanese noun '総裁 (そうさい)' means 'president'. This term is used to refer to the head or leader of an organization, company, or political party. The '総' part indicates a comprehensive or overall position, while '裁' suggests the role of decision-making and management. For example: The company president - (会社の総裁). He became the party's new president - (彼は党の新しい総裁になった).

総理大臣: "Prime minister". The Japanese word '総理大臣 (そうりだいじん)' refers to the head of the Cabinet and the chief executive of the government of Japan. The prime minister is the leader of the majority party in the National Diet and is responsible for appointing and dismissing other ministers. The prime minister holds a significant amount of political power and is considered the most important political figure in Japan. For example: The current prime minister of Japan is Fumio Kishida - (現在の日本の総理大臣は岸田文雄です).

To make really sure you learn this Kanji, I've prepared an interactive lesson for you. You are going to learn the readings and meanings of this kanji.

But first, you need to know a little bit about Hiragana and Katakana.

Hiragana and katakana are japanese syllabaries, this means that each character represents a syllable.

This are the characters you need to know for this lesson:

The hiragana "そ" is read as "so". And The hiragana "う" is read as "u".

Heres a quick tutorial on how to use it. You'll be asked three type of questions: meaning, reading, and writing.

For meanings questions all you have to do is type the english meaning. If there is more than one meaning, you have to include them all in your answer separating them by commas (,).

For Reading questions you have to type the reading in romaji (roman letters, our normal alphabet) and it'll be automatically converted to hiragana if necessary. If there is more than one reading, you have to include them all in your answer separating them by commas (,).

For Writing questions some options will appear and all you have to do is select the correct ones.