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付账 (fù zhàng) — to pay the bill; to settle an account

Definition

付账 means 'to pay the bill' (at a restaurant or for a group), and is separable: 付账, 付了账, 付不起账. Compared with 付款 (formal, for any payment), 付账 is specifically for settling a dining or group bill.

verb
to pay the billto settle an account

Examples

  • 付账。
    Wǒ lái fù zhàng.
    Let me pay the bill.
  • ，。
    Tā yǐ jīng fù le zhàng, wǒ men zǒu ba.
    He has already paid the bill, so let's go.
  • ？
    Nǐ bāng tā fù guò zhàng ma?
    Did you pay the bill for him?

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

付fùpay
账zhàngbill

付 means pay and 账 means bill, so together they mean pay the bill.

Characters in this word

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

付 pairs 亻 (person) with 又 (hand), showing a person handing something to someone.

Open 付 →

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.

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.

Open 账 →
Appears in
Shopping & Errands

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