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算账 (suàn zhàng) — to do accounts, balance the books; (figurative) to settle a score, get revenge

Definition

算账 covers two senses: literally 'do the accounts / balance the books', and figuratively 'settle a score, get revenge'. 结账 means to pay the bill; 结算 means to settle or close a financial account — neither is used for the 'get revenge' sense.

verb
to do accountsbalance the books(figurative) to settle a scoreget revenge

Examples

  • 算账。
    Gōng sī měi nián nián dǐ dōu xū yào suàn zhàng.
    The company needs to close accounts at the end of each year.
  • 。
    Zhè jiàn shì wǒ gēn tā suàn guò zhàng le.
    I've settled the score with him over this matter.
  • 。
    Tā suàn le yì tiān de zhàng.
    She spent a whole day working on accounts.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

算suàncalculate
账zhàngaccounts

“算” is to reckon and “账” is accounts, so the word means balancing books or settling a score.

Characters in this word

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

The current form 算 has 竹 on top, 目 in the middle, and 廾 below; the 目 part may have originally drawn counting rods, often made of bamboo.

Open 算 →

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
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Finance & Banking

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