算计

• Pinyin: suàn jì
• Hanzi breakdown: 算 = 竹 (bamboo counting rods) + 目 (eye) + 廾 (hands) — to count using an abacus; 计 = 讠(speech radical) + 十 (ten) — to devise verbal plans

Meaning

To calculate or reckon mentally; to scheme or plot against someone; to plan with calculated self-interest.

Carries two main senses: (1) neutral mental calculation or strategic planning; (2) negative — plotting or manipulating others for personal gain. The negative sense is more prominent in everyday usage. Distinct from 计划 in its implication of cunning or self-serving intent. Often used passively: 被人算计 (to be schemed against).

Examples

1. 他在看似轻描淡写的言谈背后，其实早已在心中默默算计好了每一步棋的走法，绝非表面上那般随意。 Behind his seemingly casual remarks, he had already quietly calculated every move like a chess game—nothing about it was as offhand as it appeared.
2. 公司内部的权力争斗让许多真心踏实做事的员工感到心力交瘁，他们既没有时间算计别人，也不愿被卷入这种消耗人心的漩涡。 The power struggles inside the company left many employees who genuinely wanted to do solid work exhausted; they neither had time to scheme against others nor wanted to be pulled into such a draining vortex.
3. 他向来不喜欢算计人，认为坦诚相待才是维系长久关系的根本之道，这也是他在朋友中赢得信任的重要原因。 He has never liked scheming against people, believing that treating others with honesty is the foundation of lasting relationships—one of the key reasons he has earned his friends’ trust.

Usage Guide

Context: interpersonal relations, business, social dynamics, psychology

Tone: negative

Do Say

• 他的提议看似慷慨，实则经过精密算计，每一项条款都暗藏着有利于自身的安排，谈判对方若不仔细审阅很容易落入被动。(His proposal appeared generous on the surface but was in fact meticulously calculated — every clause concealed arrangements that favoured him, and the other party could easily be put on the back foot if they didn't scrutinise the details carefully.)
• 在职场中，懂得识别被人算计的信号是一种重要的自我保护能力，但更重要的是在应对时保持冷静与理性，而非以牙还牙。(In the workplace, being able to recognise the signs of being schemed against is an important form of self-protection, but what matters even more is responding with composure and reason rather than retaliating in kind.)

Don't Say

• 算计 本身带有算谋和心机的意味，描述正当的商业策划或合理规划时用 规划、策划 或 计划 更为准确，避免因使用 算计 而引发不必要的负面联想

Origin & History

算 (to calculate, to count) + 计 (to plan, to scheme) — to calculate and plan, often with self-serving intent

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal