总算 (zǒng suàn) — finally; at long last; all in all; on the whole; after all

Definition

总算 has two distinct uses: 'finally, at long last' (often after a long wait, similar to 终于), and 'after all / on the whole' summing up a situation (close to 毕竟).

adverb
finallyat long lastall in allon the wholeafter all

Examples

  • 总算。
    Wǒ zǒng suàn zhǎo dào nà fèn gōng zuò le.
    I finally found that job.
  • 总算，。
    Tā zǒng suàn lái le, ràng wǒ men děng le bàn gè xiǎo shí.
    He finally came, making us wait half an hour.
  • ，总算。
    Tā suī rán shì wài guó rén, dàn zǒng suàn huì shuō yì diǎn zhōng wén.
    Although he's a foreigner, he can speak a little Chinese after all.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

总zǒngafter all
算suàncount

总 contributes the sense of after all and 算 contributes counting, yielding finally or on the whole.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 總; 总 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìrope
Sound part声符shēngfú
悤
悤cōng總zǒng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 總 has 糸, a rope, and 悤 as a sound part; the rope part is for binding together. This account is for 總, not for 总.

Open 总 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The current form 算 has 竹 on top, 目 in the middle, and 廾 below; the 目 part may have originally drawn counting rods, often made of bamboo.

Open 算 →

Grammar

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 5Time (Abstract)5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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