総合 (そうごう, sougou) Japanese meaning: synthesis | Kotomora

総そう合ごう

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Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 2,000

総合する · noun or participle which takes 'suru'

Meanings

The act of combining multiple elements into a unified whole. Often used in contexts like planning, evaluation, or systems.

統とう合ごうN1sense 1
統合 stresses unifying separate systems or organizations into one, while 総合 stresses combining diverse elements into a coordinated whole without necessarily merging them.
合ごう成せいN1sense 1
合成 is used for chemical, physical, or artificial creation (like 合成樹脂), whereas 総合 is broader and typically abstract, as in combining information or opinions.
トータル
総合 emphasizes actively integrating separate parts into one whole, while トータル simply describes something as already covering everything.
全ぜん般ぱんN2
総合 means combining separate things into a synthesis or comprehensive whole, as in 総合病院, while 全般 just refers to the whole scope of something already unified.

分ぶん析せきN3sense 1
分析 means breaking something down into its parts, the conceptual opposite of 総合, which means combining parts into a whole.

集しゅう合ごうN3sense 1
集合 (gathering; a mathematical set) shares the kanji 合 with 総合 but means people or things assembling together, not the act of synthesizing elements into a unified whole.
総そう称しょう
総称 means naming a group with a single collective term, while 総合 means synthesizing or combining things into a comprehensive whole.
総そう合ごう的てき
総合 is the plain noun 'synthesis/integration', while 総合的 is its な-adjective form used to modify nouns or as a predicate with だ/な.

総そう合ごうUsage99%
Standard modern spelling.
綜そう合ごうUsage1%
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used older form; 総合 is preferred in modern Japanese.

Composed of 総 (all, general) and 合 (combine, fit). The older form 綜合 uses 綜 (put together), but 総合 is now standard.