The kanji 総 primarily conveys the idea of "general," "whole," "total," or "overall." It implies a collection of things considered together, or the sum of all parts. It can refer to the aggregate of something or the leader of something.

・On-yomi (音読み): そう (sou) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): な.べて (na.bete), す.べて (su.bete)

⚫︎ 総理大臣 Translation: Prime Minister ⚫︎ 総人口 Translation: Total population ⚫︎ 総括 Translation: Summary; overview; general conclusion

The kanji 総 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字). The left side is a component of a thread or silk. The right side is a phonetic component, giving the sound of "sou". Therefore, the original meaning of 総 implied combining many threads together to form a whole. Later, this meaning expanded to encompass the idea of "total" or "general." It is also associated with combining many ideas into a whole.