Generally speaking / on the whole (总的来说 / 总的来看)

Structure 总的来说 / 总的来看，+ overall assessment

总的来说 (zǒng de lái shuō, “generally speaking”) and 总的来看 (zǒng de lái kàn, “looking at it overall”) introduce a global assessment, either before or after going into the details. Unlike 总而言之, which closes and recaps at the very end, these phrases weigh the overall balance (“on the whole, fine, though with caveats”) and leave room for exceptions. 来说 frames the judgment as a statement; 来看 presents it as a viewpoint reached by surveying the whole.

Examples

总zǒng的de来lái说shuō，今jīn年nián的de成chéng绩jì还hái算suàn不bù错cuò。
Generally speaking, this year’s results are pretty good.
总zǒng的de来lái看kàn，市shì场chǎng前qián景jǐng是shì乐lè观guān的de。
On the whole, the market outlook is optimistic.
总zǒng的de来lái说shuō，他tā的de表biǎo现xiàn值zhí得de肯kěn定dìng。
Generally speaking, his performance deserves recognition.
总zǒng的de来lái看kàn，双shuāng方fāng的de分fēn歧qí并bìng不bù大dà。
On the whole, the differences between the two sides are not great.

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