How to Write 综 (zōng) — Meaning “to sum up; comprehensive”

Imagine silk threads (纟) from your ancestors (宗) being woven together into a single, complete cloth. This image of combining many threads into one whole helps you remember that 综 means 'to synthesize' or 'comprehensive'.

Pay attention to the left side 纟: it is written as three strokes (撇折, 撇折, 提) and should be narrow. On the right side 宗, the top part 宀 must cover the bottom 示, and the bottom has a vertical hook (竖钩) in the middle. A common mistake is making the right side too wide or mixing up the order of the bottom strokes.

While 综 (zōng) means 'to sum up' or 'comprehensive', 绑 (bǎng) means 'to tie' or 'bind' and uses 邦 as its phonetic component. 绒 (róng) means 'velvet' or 'fine hair' and uses 戎. Visually, 综 has 宗 on the right, 绑 has 邦, and 绒 has 戎 — these right parts look different, and their meanings relate to tying or soft texture, not synthesis.

You will often see 综 in academic and formal contexts, such as 综合 (zōng hé, comprehensive) in course names like 综合课 (comprehensive course) or in phrases like 综述 (zōng shù, summary/overview) for literature reviews. It also appears in 综合国力 (zōng hé guó lì, comprehensive national power), a term used in discussing a country's overall strength.

Common words containing 综 include: 综合 (zōng hé) — comprehensive; to synthesize; 综合课 (zōng hé kè) — comprehensive course; 综述 (zōng shù) — summary; overview.