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When I look at them in the dictionary, they all mean the same thing. How to
know which one to use?

If I want to say: "Generally, I go to school by bus" or "Generally, people
grow taller" or even "Generally, I like cats", which one should I use? Or can
several of them be used for the same sentence?

Examples would be much appreciated.

**Edit** : Okay, some of the sentences I gave lack context. Here would be the
entire sentence:

> "Generally, people grow taller but some suffers from dwarfism"
>
> "Generally, I like cats but this one is horrible"
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synonyms word-choice
In general/Generally: 概【がい】して, 一般【いっぱん】に, 全体【ぜんたい】に, 総【そう】じて, なべて, 一体{いったい}に, etc
1. To understand better what the difference is, you must look at the meaning of the kanjis…

  2. For your questions: I'd say

    * 普段は、バスで通学します -> meaning "usually"
    * 一般的に、人が成長します -> meaning "as a law/rule"
    * not meaningful to me, so I can't translate.
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Aside from `一般{いっぱん}（的{てき}）に` I don't think I've seen any of those used, but I
think I've fairly often seen
[`普通【ふつう】`](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?p=%E6%99%AE%E9%80%9A&stype=0&dtype=3),
[`通常【つうじょう】`](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E9%80%9A%E5%B8%B8&dtype=3&dname=2na&stype=0&pagenum=1&index=02794400)
[`大体【だいたい】`](http://eow.alc.co.jp/%E5%A4%A7%E4%BD%93%E3%80%81/UTF-8/) and
[`大抵【たいてい】`](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E5%A4%A7%E6%8A%B5&dtype=3&dname=2na&stype=0&pagenum=1&index=02534100)
used for "generally" (Japanese sentences from Tatoeba):

> 麻雀は普通、四人で遊ぶゲームです。  
>  Mahjong is [generally/in general] a game played by 4 people.
>
> 母は大抵大変忙しかった。  
>  My mother was in general extremely busy.
>
> 彼は、通常バスで学校へ行きます。  
>  He generally goes to school by bus.
>
> ７月の天候はだいたい暑い。  
>  The weather is generally hot in July.

(Disclaimer: I'm not sure how correct/natural these are):

> 大抵の人は背が伸びるが、小人症という病気にかかる人もいる。  
>  Most people grow taller, but there are also some who suffer from dwarfism.
>
> 普通、猫は好きなんだけど、この猫はいやだ！  
>  Generally, I like cats but this one is horrible!
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* Ignoring the details or minor exceptions, as a tendency: 概して, 総じて, (おし)なべて

> 概して/総じて/おしなべて、日本人は神経質で、アメリカ人は雑だ。  
>  'Generally, Japanese are highly strung and Americans are coarse/sloppy.'

  * Generalizing: 一般に

> 4は2+2と表される。一般に、4以上の偶数は、2つの素数の和で表される。  
>  '4 is expressed 2+2. In general, an even number that is four or greater can
> be expressed as the sum of two primes.'

  * As a whole, adding up: 全体(的)に

> 個個の四半期で見れば赤字もあったが、この一年では全体的に黒字だ。  
>  'There were quarters that we had deficit, but for this year as a whole, we
> gained profit.'

  * The hell, on earth: 一体に

> 君は一体に何が不満だと言うのか。この馬鹿者が。  
>  'What in the hell do you have complaints about? You ass hole.'
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