“zenbu de / awasete” Meaning — In Total / Altogether [JLPT N2]

Content by NTJ Kuma · Nihongo to Japan editorial team · Updated July 27, 2026

“3000 yen in total,” “five people altogether” — adding quantities up, with examples. (JLPT N2)

「これ、全部でいくらですか?」 — bundling scattered numbers into one total

At checkout, 「これ、全部でいくらですか?」 (how much is this altogether?) — 「〜全部で・〜合わせて」 both sum up several quantities into a total: “altogether ～,” “in total ～.” 「全部で」 adds everything up, 「合わせて」 combines several items. This guide covers these two's use, that the particle is 「で,」 how to tell them from 「合計・みんなで,」 and adds the 「しめて」 shopkeepers love for calling out totals.

Core: summing several quantities into one total

Both center on “summing” — combining several separate items (people, things, amounts) into a total:

• 全部で = altogether, adding everything up: これ、全部で3000円です (this is 3000 yen altogether), 参加者は全部で30人 (participants are 30 in all).
• 合わせて = in total, adding together (combining several items): りんご3個とみかん2個、合わせて5個 (3 apples plus 2 oranges, 5 in total), 大人と子供、合わせて8人 (adults and children, 8 in total).

Feel: “altogether, in total” — the core is “bundling scattered quantities into one total.” 「全部で」 leans “adding everything up (in all)”; 「合わせて」 leans “combining several items (in total).” Essential for everyday counting of money, people, quantities.

Forms & attachment

See it in context

• 店員が「全部で5800円になります」と言った。(The clerk said, “That's 5800 yen altogether.”)
• この二つ、合わせていくらになりますか。(These two, how much in total?)
• 出席者は、大人と子供合わせて50人だった。(Attendees were 50 in total, adults and children.)
• 交通費と宿泊費を合わせて、10万円かかった。(Travel and lodging together came to 100,000 yen.)
• （寿司屋で）「しめて8000円です」((at a sushi shop) “That's 8000 yen all told.”)

⚠️ Where learners slip up

① The particle is 「で,」 not 「に」 or 「を.」 「全部で」's particle is always 「で」 (marking “calculated as a whole = altogether”), and it can't be 「に」 or 「を」: ○ 全部で3000円 (3000 altogether) / × 全部にいくら, × 全部を3000円. Learners, influenced by the Chinese “全部 (how much),” easily drop or misuse the particle, but Japanese is fixed as 「全部で.」 Likewise the 「で」 in 「一つで (for one ～)」「三人で (three people together)」 is this 「で」 marking “counted as／within the scope of ～.” Mnemonic: 全部 ＋ で ＋ total (で marks the total/scope).

② 「合わせて」 comes from 「合わせる (to sum),」 don't confuse it with 「合って (合う).」 「合わせて」 is the て-form of the verb 「合わせる (to combine, sum),」 meaning “combine (several items) = in total”: 二つを合わせて (adding the two together), 合わせて5個 (5 in total). Whereas 「合って」 is the て-form of 「合う (to match, agree, be together),」 with a completely different meaning (match, agree): 意見が合って (opinions agree), 話が合って (get along). They sound alike (あわせて／あって) but are different verbs, different meanings — 「合わせて = sum, total」; 「合って = match, agree.」 Don't write 「合わせて5人 (5 in total)」 as 「合って5人」 (which makes no sense). Mnemonic: for summing/total use 「合わせて」 (合わせる).

③ 「全部で」 vs 「みんなで」: summing a total vs everyone together. These two both contain 「で」 but mean different things. 「全部で」 = altogether, adding everything up (a total): summing the quantities of several items to get how many in all: 全部で5人 (5 in all), 全部でいくら (how much altogether). It's calculating a total. 「みんなで」 = everyone together (all doing something together): means “all members together (doing something),” the focus being “together, jointly” rather than a total: みんなで歌おう (let's all sing together), みんなで協力する (all cooperate together), みんなで食べる (all eat together). It stresses “all acting jointly.” Difference: 「全部で」 is “adding up quantities (in all ～)”; 「みんなで」 is “everyone together (doing ～).” Test: to count “how many in all (a total)” → 全部で; to say “everyone together (doing something)” → みんなで. E.g. 「全部で8人来た (8 people came in all — counting)」 uses 全部で; 「みんなで遊ぶ (all play together — joint action)」 uses みんなで. Don't mix them over both having 「で.」

🔄 Compare with similar forms: 全部で／合わせて／合計／みんなで

💡 How to remember this

「全部で・合わせて」 are essential words for summing quantities into a total — three points: ① the particle is 「で」 — 全部で3000円 (not に/を), 「で」 marking “counted as a whole = altogether”; ② 「合わせて」 comes from 「合わせる (to sum),」 don't confuse it with 「合って (合う = match)」 (合わせて5個 = 5 in total, 合って = opinions agree); ③ separate it from relatives — 「合計」 is the formal written/table version, 「みんなで」 is “everyone together (doing something)” (not a total). Also, shopkeepers love calling out totals with 「しめて」 (しめて5000円 = 5000 all told, common at sushi shops, izakaya). For everyday shopping, asking 「全部でいくら」, saying 「全部で○人」, or combining items with 「合わせて」 — these are essential for counting money and people, very practical.

❓ FAQ

Q: 「全部で」 and 「合わせて」 both mean ‘altogether, in total' — are they interchangeable?

Close in meaning (both sum quantities into a total), mostly interchangeable, but with a slightly different emphasis. 「全部で」 = altogether, adding everything up (summing all, to get how many in all): stresses “all, in all,” adding up all the items before you into a total, commonest for everyday money/people counting: これ、全部でいくら? (how much is this altogether?), 参加者は全部で30人 (participants are 30 in all), 全部で三時間かかった (took three hours in all). It's “adding everything up (in all ～).” 「合わせて」 = in total, adding several together (combining different items): stresses “combining, adding together (separate items),” often for “A plus B”: りんご3個とみかん2個、合わせて5個 (3 apples and 2 oranges, 5 in total), 交通費と宿泊費を合わせて10万円 (travel plus lodging, 100,000 in total), 大人と子供、合わせて8人 (adults and children, 8 in total). It's “combining several to count (in total).” Finer: 「全部で」 leans “adding up all before you (in all)”; 「合わせて」 leans “combining (specific several) to count (in total),” often naming “A and B.” In most cases they're interchangeable (この二つ、全部で／合わせていくら = how much these two altogether/in total), but 「合わせて」 is more for “adding A and B (different items) together,” 「全部で」 more general for “in all.” Test: general “in all, altogether” → 全部で; stressing “combining several (A and B)” → 合わせて. Also, the 「合計」 on written text, tables, receipts is less often said directly in everyday speech (which uses 全部で／合わせて); 「合計」 leans formal.

Q: What does the 「しめて○○円」 that shopkeepers say mean?

「しめて」 = “altogether, in total,” a phrase shopkeepers and owners often use when calling out a total aloud, especially heard at checkout in sushi shops, izakaya, traditional small shops: 「しめて5000円になります (that's 5000 yen all told)」「しめてお一人様3000円 (3000 per person in total).」 It means the same as 「全部で」「合計」 (the summed total of the bill), but 「しめて」 has a crisp, old-school feel of calling out the tab — a habitual phrase for owners/clerks tallying up (from 「締める (to settle, close out)」). So at a traditional Japanese eatery, hearing the owner say 「しめて○○円」 is them announcing “how much in total.” It's more colloquial, with a traditional flavor; ordinary customers just use 「全部で」 to count (the customer asks 「全部でいくら?」, the shop may answer 「しめて○○円」). Understanding-wise: しめて = (a shop's spoken) altogether, in total, the colloquial, tally-calling version of 「全部で／合計」 — just understand it (use 全部で yourself, most general). You'll meet this word in everyday shopping, especially at traditional small shops, and learning it lets you understand shop tallies.

🖊️ Practice Questions (5)

Q1. 「りんごを3個、みかんを2個、___5個買った。」(in total)

(A) 合わせて　(B) まったく　(C) せいぜい　(D) たかが

Q2. 「これ、___いくらですか。」(how much in total)

(A) 全部で　(B) 全部に　(C) 全部を　(D) 全部の

Q3. What does 「参加者は全部で30人」 mean?

(A) 30 participants in total

(B) 30 participants each

(C) 30 absent

(D) Only part of it is 30

Q4. What is the nuance of 「合わせて」?

(A) In total / adding several items together

(B) Counting separately

(C) Subtracting

(D) Averaging

Q5. Which usage is natural?

(A) 全部で3000円になります。　(B) 全部でを買う。

(C) 合わせてだ高い。　(D) 全部で行く (no quantity)。

Answer Explanations

1. (A) 合わせて ── 5 in total.

2. (A) 全部で ── How much in total.

3. (A) ── 30 people in total.

4. (A) ── In total / adding up.

5. (A) ── 「全部で3000円」 is correct.