总是

总是 zǒngshì

Always

HSK 3 繁體 總是 zongshi

What 总是 means

  1. Always

These meanings come from the same dictionary that powers the Chinese to Pinyin translator and the Chinese to English translator, so a whole sentence containing 总是 will read it the same way this page does.

Character by character

总是 is written with 2 characters. Chinese words are usually easier to remember once you can see what each part contributes.

zǒng
Always (gather - sum up - chief - after all - general)
shì
To be (is - are - am - yes)

How to write 总是

Stroke order is not decoration — it is what makes handwriting legible and what dictionary lookup by stroke count depends on.

Practise 总是 on printable 田字格 sheets, trace it in the writing practice tool, or watch any other character in the Stroke Order Animator.

Questions about 总是

What does 总是 mean in English?

总是 is pronounced zǒngshì and means Always.

How do you pronounce 总是?

总是 is zǒngshì in pinyin — written zongshi without tone marks. Press the audio button on this page to hear it spoken by a native voice.

What are the characters in 总是?

总是 is written with 2 characters: 总 (zǒng) Always (gather - sum up - chief - after all - general), 是 (shì) To be (is - are - am - yes). Knowing the parts is usually how the whole word becomes memorable.

How is 总是 written in traditional Chinese?

總是. The simplified form 总是 is used in mainland China and Singapore; 總是 is used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. Both are pronounced zǒngshì.

Is 总是 an HSK word?

Yes — 总是 is on the official HSK 3 vocabulary list. You can study it with the rest of that list on the HSK 3 page.

Studied around the same time

Keep going

Translate a whole sentence containing 总是 with the Chinese to Pinyin translator, study it alongside the rest of HSK 3, drill it with HSK flashcards, or save it above and review it on your review deck.

Browse the dictionary

Every word on this site links to its entry — tap any word in a graded reader, a translation result or an HSK list to land on a page like this one.

Dictionary index