买账 (mǎi zhàng) — (colloquial) to buy into, to accept, to acknowl…

Definition

Used almost only in the negative: 不买账 means 'not buy it / not accept / not go for it'. The '账' is figurative — no actual buying is involved.

verb

(colloquial) to buy intoto acceptto acknowledge (usually in negative constructions)

买账。
Tā shuō de huà méi rén mǎi zhàng.
Nobody buys what he says.
，。
Lǎo bǎn bù mǎi zhàng, wǒ men yě méi bàn fǎ.
The boss doesn't accept it, so we can't do anything.
。
Tā de biǎo yǎn guān zhòng bù mǎi zhàng.
The audience didn't buy his performance.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

买账 pictures 买, buy, and 账, bill, so accepting something is like paying the bill.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 買; 买 is its simplified writing.

In the traditional form 買, 网 is a net and 貝 is a money cowrie.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 賬; 账 is its simplified writing.

貝長賬

Meaning part形符xíngfú

貝貝bèishell

Sound part声符shēngfú

長

長cháng賬

Same sound today

In the traditional form 賬, 貝 is a shell and 長 is used for the sound; the simplified 账 is a later shorthand, not the historical shape.

Appears in