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

Question

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"

Answer 1

• 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.'

Answer 2

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】, 通常【つうじょう】 大体【だいたい】 and 大抵【たいてい】 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!

Answer 3

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.