採算(さいさん)

さいさん
noun
profitability
businessbusiness
1. profitability, cost-effectiveness
Whether a business, project, or investment yields enough revenue to cover costs and produce a profit.
採算(さいさん)が取(と)れない。
It's not profitable.
採算(さいさん)を度外視(どがいし)してでも、このサービスを続(つづ)けたい。
I want to continue this service even if we ignore profitability.
Bus routes in depopulated areas are unprofitable, and the number of discontinued routes is increasing.

Etymology

採(さい) (take, gather) + 算(さん) (calculate) = calculating the take (i.e., whether the numbers work out).

Common collocations

Usage

採算(さいさん) is a business term. The most common patterns are 採算(さいさん)が取(と)れる/取(と)れない (profitable/unprofitable) and 採算(さいさん)が合(あ)う/合(あ)わない (cost-effective/not cost-effective).