The Chinese words 算 (suàn), 算上 (suànshang) and 算了 (suànle) can be quite easy to mix up because of their similarity. Getting similar things confused in this way is called interference. The way to deal with this is to learn the differences as clearly as possible.
算 (suàn): to sum
Starting with the simplest of these words, let’s have a look at 算. When used as a verb, 算 means “to sum” or “to calculate”.
Let’s have a look at some example sentences for this meaning of 算:
Another meaning of 算 as a verb is “to consider”, “to regard as” or “to count as”. Some examples:
You could think of the basic, core meaning of 算 as “to calculate to be”. This ties together all of the different uses of 算.
算上 (suànshang): to count in
The next word we’ll look at is 算上. This means “to count in” or “to include”. Again, you could think of this as “to include in your calculations”. Some example sentences for 算上:
One important thing to note about 算上 is that it is not the same as constructions like 算得上 (suàndeshang) and 算不上 (suànbushang). Those are potential complements used with the verb 算 described above. They mean “can be considered” and “can’t be considered”, respectively.
算了 (suànle): forget it
This is a much more colloquial, idiomatic use of 算. 算了 means “forget it” or “let’s drop the matter”. It’s a bit like saying “consider this dealt with and leave it”. Note that it can be slightly abrupt or rude in some situations.
Some example sentences for 算了:
算了 has a sense of giving up or dropping one’s original intentions. It’s often used as a response to circumstances or people that can’t be dealt with or that the speaker is no longer willing to deal with.
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