总的来说 / 总的来看【zǒngde láishuō / zǒngde láikàn】

总的来说 means "on the whole, overall". It comes at the start of a sentence, after some details, and gives the judgement they add up to. It is neutral, common in speech and in writing.

It often follows a mixed picture: something good, something bad, and then the balance.

总的来看 is a little more written and suits a report: "taking everything into account". 总的说来 is another form of the same phrase.

总的来说 or 总之

总之 means "in short, anyway" and can cut a discussion short without weighing anything up. 总的来说 always gives a balanced verdict.

Writing it

The middle character is 的. 总得 (zǒngděi) means "have to", and writing it here is a common slip.

• × 总得来说，这次考试不难 → 总的来说，这次考试不难