Definition
算总账 literally means 'to calculate the total account' in accounting, but it is far more common as a figurative idiom meaning 'to settle scores' or 'to have a final reckoning' — often implying revenge or confronting someone about past grievances. As a verb-object phrase (离合词), it can be separated: 算了一次总账 ('settled accounts once'). Use it when someone plans to confront another person about accumulated wrongs, or in business contexts for a final financial settlement.
v
to settle accounts (literally or figuratively)to have a final reckoningto get even
Examples
- ，算总账。Tā qiàn le wǒ zhème duō qián, zǎowǎn yào gēn tā suàn zǒng zhàng.He owes me so much money — sooner or later I'll settle accounts with him.
- ，。Bié jí, děng shìqing jiéshù hòu wǒmen zài suàn zǒng zhàng.Don't rush; after things are finished, we'll settle the score.
- ，。Tā zuò guò de nàxiē huài shì, zǒng yǒu yì tiān yào suàn yí cì zǒng zhàng.One day there will be a final reckoning for all the bad things he has done.
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