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noun HSK 5
gài yào
summary · outline · abstract · overview

Meaning

概要 refers to a brief, concise summary that captures the main points or essential elements of something larger, such as a document, speech, or plan. It emphasizes distilling information down to its core components.

Usage

This is a formal, written-register word commonly used in academic, business, and official contexts. You'll often see it in titles like 内容概要 (content summary) or 项目概要 (project overview). It's more formal than 总结 and typically appears at the beginning of documents.

Examples

  1. 01
    请提供一份项目概要，包括目标和预算。
    Qǐng tí gōng yī fèn xiàng mù gài yào, bāo kuò mù biāo hé yù suàn.
    Please provide a project overview, including objectives and budget.
  2. 02
    这篇文章的概要写得很清楚，一目了然。
    Zhè piān wén zhāng de gài yào xiě de hěn qīng chǔ, yī mù liǎo rán.
    The summary of this article is written very clearly and is easy to understand at a glance.

Characters

Measure words

  • 份fèn一份概要
  • 个gè一个概要

Common collocations

  • 内容概要
    nèi róng gài yào
    content summary
  • 项目概要
    xiàng mù gài yào
    project overview
  • 情况概要
    qíng kuàng gài yào
    overview of the situation
  • 作一个概要
    zuò yī gè gài yào
    to make a summary

Antonyms

Origin

The word combines 概 (general/overall) and 要 (essential/key points), literally meaning 'general essentials' or 'overview of what's important.'

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