综 (zōng) is a Chinese character meaning “to sum up”. It is written from 纟 (silk; thread (left-side form)) and 宗 (ancestor; clan), side by side, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “to sum up”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
纟 + 宗
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 綜，機縷也。从糸宗聲; IDS ⿰纟宗 (cjkvi-ids, build-time only)
Memory aid
Threads (纟) from every branch of the clan (宗) are gathered into one — to pull everything together, to sum up.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 综合zōng héto synthesize; comprehensive; overall综 = zōng
Go deeper
All readings
to sum up
to sum up; to put together; to synthesize
总括；把各方面归拢在一起。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 综合zōng héto synthesize; comprehensive; overall综 = zōng
Rare readings, not taught: zèng
Sound component
宗 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 综 mean?
综 (zōng) means to sum up; to put together; to synthesize.
How do you pronounce 综?
It is pronounced zōng.
What parts is 综 made of?
纟 (silk; thread (left-side form)) and 宗 (ancestor; clan), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 綜，機縷也。从糸宗聲; IDS ⿰纟宗 (cjkvi-ids, build-time only). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 综 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 综?
纟. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 综?
Common ones are 综合. The reading of 综 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.