also: ごわさん
starting over; going back to square one; calling off
Used when a plan, calculation, or effort is abandoned and reset to zero. Often appears in the phrase ご破算にする or ご破算になる.
The plan didn't work out, and everything went back to square one.
Let's call off the negotiations and start over from scratch.
clearing an abacus
Original literal meaning: resetting an abacus to zero by clearing all beads. Now mainly a historical or explanatory sense.
Clearing an abacus means moving all the beads back to zero.
白紙に戻す means to return to a blank slate, often used for plans or decisions. ご破算 has a stronger nuance of abandoning or canceling something that was in progress.
Standard kanji spelling; the honorific prefix ご is usually written in kana.
Alternate reading ごわさん, sometimes heard in speech but less standard.
Full kanji spelling with 御 for the honorific prefix; less common in modern writing.
From ご (honorific prefix) + 破算 (breaking calculation). Originally referred to clearing an abacus, later extended metaphorically to resetting plans or efforts.