At a glance
要するに means "in short" or "basically". It sums up what was just said (A) in a shorter, clearer way (B).
A。要するに、B。
説明は長かったが、要するに、計画は中止ということだ。 The explanation was long, but in short, the plan is canceled.
How to form it
要するに is a connector. It comes after the explanation (A), at the start of the summary (B).
| Where it goes | Example | Register |
|---|---|---|
| Start of the summary sentence | A。要するに、B。 | Spoken and written |
| With ということです at the end | 要するに、Bということです。 | Polite |
| With ってこと at the end | 要するに、Bってこと? | Casual speech |
The politeness comes from the end of the sentence. 要するに itself does not change.