Usage note
共表示总共、一起。
gòng biǎo shì zǒng gòng 、 yì qǐ。
Altogether means in total or together.
Context note
共常出现在人数、数量和总和里。
gòng cháng chū xiàn zài rén shù 、 shù liàng hé zǒng hé lǐ。
Altogether often appears with people, quantity, and totals.
5 examples
共十人。
gòng shí rén。
A total of ten people.
我们共三本书。
wǒ men gòng sān běn shū。
We have three books altogether.
共用一个盒子。
gòng yòng yí gè hé zi。
Use one box together.
共来了五个人。
gòng lái le wǔ gè rén。
A total of five people came.
共花了多少钱？
gòng huā le duō shǎo qián？
How much money was spent in total?
5 mini stories
这次活动共来了很多人。
zhè cì huó dòng gòng lái le hěn duō rén。
A lot of people came to this event in total.
我们共用了三张纸。
wǒ men gòng yòng le sān zhāng zhǐ。
We used three sheets of paper altogether.
老师问共多少个同学参加。
lǎo shī wèn gòng duō shǎo gè tóng xué cān jiā。
The teacher asked how many classmates participated in total.
共吃了两碗饭以后，我觉得很饱。
gòng chī le liǎng wǎn fàn yǐ hòu， wǒ jué de hěn bǎo。
After eating two bowls of rice in total, I felt full.
这本书共十页，读起来很快。
zhè běn shū gòng shí yè， dú qǐ lái hěn kuài。
This book has ten pages in total and is quick to read.
Mini dialogue
数人数
A
我们班共有多少学生？
Wǒmen bān gòng yǒu duōshao xuéshēng?
How many students are there altogether in our class?
B
共有三十个学生。
Gòng yǒu sānshí gè xuéshēng.
There are thirty students altogether.
算总数
A
苹果和梨子一共多少钱？
Píngguǒ hé lízi yīgòng duōshao qián?
How much are the apples and pears altogether?
B
一共十五元。
Yīgòng shíwǔ yuán.
Fifteen yuan altogether.
Related words and contrasts
related
一起
yīqǐ
together
Altogether often implies doing something together.
similar
总共
zǒnggòng
in total
Used to give a total amount.