# 综合楼



## albyahua

*H*ow do you translate 综合楼 into English? *W*hat kind of building is it?

*T*he context is a simple address: 冰克路？？号，综合楼...层....室

多谢!


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## ofriendragon

A multifunctional building?


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## popolvuh

My suggestion is do not translate it because it´s the name of the building. You may put it this way: Building Zonghe, Zonghe Building, even Zonghelou.


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## Mugi

Building Zonghe is clearly not an option (for a native English speaker), but popolvuh's other two suggestions are both good - I would opt for Zonghe Building myself. In reality, it's probably the main building of whatever complex it's part of.


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## alsakhralkbir

المجمع是吧。。。


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## aleo_china

*Y*o pienso que "comprehensive buiding" es mejor


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## Mugi

Unfortunately "comprehensive building" does not make sense in English as a _name_ of a building. You can _describe_ a building as being comprehensive, but only if you also detail why (E.g. This is a comprehensive building, housing administration, production and R&D facilities all under one roof.) 
"Comprehensive building" on its own is typical "Chinglish."


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## aleo_china

*I'*m not quite sure of it, either, anyway *I* saw the name before in some university in the US...
*O*nly a suggestion , nada mas hehe
*M*aybe buiding of comprehensive functions or comprehensive fuctions buiding or buiding of multiple functions
*A*lso the corrections r* are* welcomed. thx *Thanks*


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## samanthalee

From the context, it seems 综合楼 is the name of a building and therefore should be directly translated as Zhonghe Building. But if 综合楼 is a generic term, we can translate it to either of the English terms _complex_ and _multiplex_.

We usually hear the term _shopping complex_ and _sports complex_. The definition of _complex_ pertaining to buildings is given in wiktionary.com as "_A collection of buildings with a common purpose, such as a university or military base_." But in dictionary.com, one of the definition of _complex_ is given as "_a whole structure (as a building) made up of interconnected or related structures_". So a complex may be a building or a collection of buildings. And the activities carried out in a complex is of a common purpose (though what exactly constitutes a common purpose can be rather vague).

Multiplex is usually associated with cinema. In dictionary.com, it says it is "_a building, especially a movie theater or dwelling, with multiple separate units._" But we can also use _multiplex_ for buildings that has nothing to do with cinema, as wiktionary.com says it is "_a building where several activities occur in multiple units concurrently_ and _*hence*,_ _a large cinema complex comprising of many (e.g. more than five, and often over ten) movie theatres._"


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## AVim

Hi Lee, nice conclusion. Is 'Zhonghe Building' a typo?


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## samanthalee

AVim said:


> Hi Lee, nice conclusion. Is 'Zhonghe Building' a typo?


Hi AVim, it's not a typo; it's a misspell. You are right, it should be Zonghe and not Zhonghe.  Thanks for pointing it out.


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## daoxunchang

Another suggestion: if it's in a school or university, it may be a place where both natural science and liberal arts students study.


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