TongTong
Sign in

记账 (jì zhàng) — to keep accounts; to do bookkeeping; to charge to an account (as in recording a purchase on credit)

Definition

记账 covers two ideas: to record financial transactions in a ledger, and to put a purchase on credit (charge it to an account, pay later).

verb
to keep accountsto do bookkeepingto charge to an account (as in recording a purchase on credit)

Examples

  • 记账，。
    Tā měi tiān dōu rèn zhēn jì zhàng, cóng bù chū cuò.
    He carefully keeps accounts every day and never makes mistakes.
  • 记账，。
    Zhè cì xiān jì zhàng, yuè dǐ zài fù qián.
    This time, charge it to the account first; we'll pay at the end of the month.
  • ，。
    Wǒ yǐ jīng jì le sān cì zhàng, měi cì dōu zhǔn què wú wù.
    I've already recorded the accounts three times, and it's been accurate each time.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

记jìrecord
账zhàngaccounts

记 means record, and 账 means accounts, so 记账 is keeping accounts.

Characters in this word

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 記; 记 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánspeech; words
Sound part声符shēngfú
己
己jǐ記jì
Same sound today

The traditional form 記 pairs 言 (speech; words) with 己 as a sound part; the simplified 记 is a later shorthand, so its right side is not the historical component.

Open 记 →

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
Finance & Banking

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.