总算: at long last, all things considered
【五08】语气副词 / adverbs
Tone colorsā tone 1á tone 2ǎ tone 3à tone 4a neutral
总算 says that an expected result has finally come, after effort, waiting or worry, with a note of relief: 这本书总算学完了 (I have finally finished this book). The verb almost always takes 了, and the result is hoped for, never dreaded.
Second use: “all things considered, it is not bad”. The speaker consoles themselves: 总算还不错, 总算没有白来 (at least we did not come for nothing).
Differences: 终于 is a neutral “finally”, possible for a dreaded event too, whereas 总算 implies relief. 毕竟 (hsk5-g12) is not “finally” but “after all”: it gives a reason, not an outcome.
Examples
等了三个小时，他总算来了。
Děng le sān ge xiǎoshí, tā zǒngsuàn lái le.After waiting three hours, he has finally arrived.
雨总算停了，我们出发吧。
Yǔ zǒngsuàn tíng le, wǒmen chūfā ba.The rain has finally stopped, so let's set off.
作业总算写完了，可以休息了。
Zuòyè zǒngsuàn xiě wán le, kěyǐ xiūxi le.The homework is finally done, so I can rest.
找了半年，我总算找到了一份满意的工作。
Zhǎo le bàn nián, wǒ zǒngsuàn zhǎodào le yí fèn mǎnyì de gōngzuò.After half a year of searching, I have finally found a job I am happy with.
虽然没拿第一名，成绩总算还不错。
Suīrán méi ná dì yī míng, chéngjì zǒngsuàn hái búcuò.I did not come first, but all things considered my results are not bad.
他们误会了很多年，今天总算把话说开了。
Tāmen wùhuì le hěn duō nián, jīntiān zǒngsuàn bǎ huà shuō kāi le.They misunderstood each other for years, and today they have finally talked it through.
Common mistakes
✗ 灾难总算发生了 → ✓ 灾难终于发生了 (总算 implies a hoped-for result and relief, for a dreaded event use 终于).
✗ 我每天总算八点起床 → 总算 does not describe a habit, it reports a result that came about once (V + 了).
✗ 他总算是个孩子 → ✓ 他毕竟是个孩子 (“after all” is 毕竟).