總
collect, overall, altogether
Strokes17
Readings
On'yomi
- ソウ
Kun'yomi
- す.べて
- すべ.て
- ふさ
Nanori
- ずさ
Meaning
總 centers on bringing things together into a whole: collecting items, considering something overall, or treating things altogether as one group.
Study
Etymology
總 combines 糸 (thread) with 悤, which likely contributes the sound and the idea of gathering or bundling. The character suggests collecting threads together, which extends to the general sense of collecting or summarizing.
Meaning mnemonic
The left side 糸 is thread, and the right side 悤 looks like a bundle with a heart underneath. Imagine gathering many threads into one bundle and tying them together with care: that is collecting and bringing things together overall.
Reading mnemonic
For ソウ, picture sewing all the collected threads together: sew -> ソウ, and the act of sewing unites everything into one piece.