失算

shīsuàn

verb #43,716

Meanings

1 to miscalculate
2 to misjudge
3 to make a strategic mistake

Characters

calculate, plan

Examples

这次投资真是失算了。

Zhè cì tóuzī zhēn shì shīsuàn le.

This investment really was a miscalculation.

他没料到对手这一招,显然是失算。

Tā méi liàodào duìshǒu zhè yī zhāo, xiǎnrán shì shīsuàn.

He didn't anticipate his opponent's move — clearly a misjudgment.

Tips

usage

失算 is about strategic / planning misjudgment, not arithmetic error. For getting a sum wrong on paper, use 算错 (suàncuò) instead.

memory

失 (shī) = 'lose / fail to', 算 (suàn) = 'calculate' — literally 'failed-to-calculate'. The same 失 prefix builds 失误 (shīwù, 'lapse'), 失策 (shīcè, 'wrong strategy'), 失手 (shīshǒu, 'slip of the hand').

Stroke Order

失 shī

算 suàn