账户 (zhàng hù) — bank account; online account

Definition

账户 refers to the account itself (the record or balance), typically a bank account. 账号 is more about the login number/ID, and 账单 is the itemized bill statement.

noun
bank accountonline account
Measure word ·

Examples

  • 账户
    Wǒ měi gè yuè dōu wǎng zhàng hù lǐ cún qián.
    I deposit money into my account every month.
  • 账户
    Nǐ de zhàng hù yú é hái yǒu duō shǎo?
    How much balance is left in your account?
  • 账户
    Qǐng yòng shǒu jī hào zhù cè yí gè zhàng hù.
    Please register an account using your phone number.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

zhàngledger/account
account holder/household

账 gives the idea of a ledger and 户 the account holder, so the word means a bank or online account.

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 賬; 账 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
bèishell
Sound part声符shēngfú
cháng
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 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 戶; 户 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 戶 is a picture of half of a gate. The simplified 户 is a later shorthand, so its shape should not be read as the original parts.

Open 户 →

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