Meaning
概述 means to give a general outline or summary of something, or the summary itself. It combines 概 (general, approximate) and 述 (to narrate, state). This word is commonly used in academic, business, and formal contexts when presenting the main points or framework of a topic without going into detail.
Usage
概述 is formal and often appears in written Chinese, presentations, reports, and academic papers. It's used when you need to provide a high-level overview before diving into specifics. Common in phrases like '本文概述...' (this article outlines...) or as a noun in section headings.
Examples
- 01让我先概述一下今天会议的主要内容。.Let me first outline the main content of today's meeting.
- 02这份报告的第一部分是项目概述。.The first part of this report is the project overview.
Characters
Common collocations
- 概述一下to give a brief overview
- 简要概述to briefly summarize
- 项目概述project overview
- 内容概述content summary
Antonyms
Origin
概 originally referred to a leveling tool for grain measures, evolving to mean 'general' or 'approximate.' 述 means 'to relate' or 'to tell.' Together they form a word meaning to relate something in general terms.