账本 (zhàng běn) — account book, ledger

Definition

noun

account bookledger

Measure word · 本

账本。
Tā měi tiān dōu huì rèn zhēn hé duì zhàng běn shàng de měi yì bǐ zhàng mù.
He carefully checks every entry in the ledger every day.
账本，。
Zhè jiā xiǎo diàn de zhàng běn jì de fēi cháng qīng chǔ, shōu zhī yí mù liǎo rán.
The account book of this small shop is kept very clear, making income and expenses obvious at a glance.
，账本。
Diàn nǎo pǔ jí hòu, hěn duō gōng sī bú zài shǐ yòng zhǐ zhì zhàng běn le.
After computers became common, many companies no longer use paper account books.

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.

“账” means account and “本” means book; together they name a book for 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 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.

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

本 adds a stroke at the bottom of a tree shape to mark the roots, giving the sense of foundation or original.

Appears in