In total – 共 gòng

Grammar Point:
The term 共 gòng in Chinese often translates to “altogether” or “in total.” It’s often paired with a numeral or a quantity to represent the entirety of something.

Structure

共 gòng + (V) + Numeral or Quantity

In daily conversation, it is more common to say 一共 yígòng.

共gòng有yǒu三十sānshí人rén出席chūxí會議huìyì共gòng有yǒu三十sānshí人rén出席chūxí会议huìyì
A total of thirty people attended the meeting.

這zhè本běn書shū共gòng十五shíwǔ課kè这zhè本běn书shū共gòng十五shíwǔ课kè
This book consists of a total of fifteen lessons.

我們wǒmen共gòng完成wánchéng了le十項shíxiàng任務rènwù我们wǒmen共gòng完成wánchéng了le十项shíxiàng任务rènwù
We completed a total of ten tasks together.

共gòng攝取shèqǔ了le2000 大卡dàqiǎ的de卡路里qiǎlùlǐ共gòng摄取shèqǔ了le2000 大卡dàqiǎ的de卡路里qiǎlùlǐ
In total, consumed 2000 calories.

兩杯liǎngbēi奶茶nǎichá、 五杯wǔbēi咖啡kāfēi、 一個yíge蛋糕dàngāo， 共gòng八樣bāyàng商品shāngpǐn， 對duì嗎ma？ 两杯liǎngbēi奶茶nǎichá、 五杯wǔbēi咖啡kāfēi、 一个yíge蛋糕dàngāo， 共gòng八样bāyàng商品shāngpǐn， 对duì吗ma？
Two cups of milk tea, five cups of coffee, one cake, totaling eight items, right?

這zhè場cháng意外yìwài共gòng死sǐ了le35 人rén这zhè场cháng意外yìwài共gòng死sǐ了le35 人rén
This accident resulted in a total of 35 deaths.

FYI
The secret that can’t be spoken of:
Is there an unspoken rule in China that the number of accidental deaths cannot exceed 35 people? Certain Chinese netizens have questioned the significance of the number “35,” even speculating that it might be the officially sanctioned “death toll” set by Chinese authorities. Rumor has it that if the death count surpasses 35, someone is at risk of losing their job. Netizens compiled a list of accidental death incidents in recent years, and astonishingly, they all seem to tally up to “35 people.”

Practice

TouchHover over the space to see the answers.

✔️ It took me a total of two hours to finish reading this book.

我wǒ共gòng花huā了le兩liǎng小時xiǎoshí看kàn完wán這zhè本běn書shū我wǒ共gòng花huā了le两liǎng小时xiǎoshí看kàn完wán这zhè本běn书shū

✔️ We have sold a total of eighty items this month.

我們wǒmen這個月zhègeyuè共gòng出售chūshòu了le八十bāshí件jiàn商品shāngpǐn我们wǒmen这个月zhègeyuè共gòng出售chūshòu了le八十bāshí件jiàn商品shāngpǐn

✔️ So far, I have written a total of 370 articles.

目前mùqián為止wèizhǐ， 我wǒ共gòng寫xiě了le370 篇piān文章wénzhāng目前mùqián为止wèizhǐ， 我wǒ共gòng写xiě了le370 篇piān文章wénzhāng