赌账 (dǔ zhàng) — gambling debt | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

gambling debt

Measure word · 笔

，赌账。
Tā shū le hěn duō qián, qiàn le yì bǐ hěn dà de dǔ zhàng.
He lost a lot of money and owed a huge gambling debt.
赌账。
Tā měi tiān dǎ gōng jiù shì wèi le huán qīng dǔ zhàng.
He works part-time every day just to pay off his gambling debts.
，赌账。
Qiān wàn bú yào jiè qián qù dǔ bó, fǒu zé huì qiàn xià gāo é de dǔ zhàng.
Never borrow money to gamble, or you'll incur a huge gambling debt.

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zhàngdebt/account

赌 (gambling) and 账 (debt) mean a debt from gambling.

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 賭; 赌 is its simplified writing.

貝者賭

Meaning part形符xíngfú

貝貝bèishell; money

Sound part声符shēngfú

者

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 賭 combines 貝 (shell; money) with 者, and this shape expresses the meaning to wager or to bet. The simplified 赌 is a shorthand.

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.