账面 (zhàng miàn) — an item in accounts; an accounting entry

Definition

A finance/accounting term meaning 'on the books' or 'book value' — the recorded figure in the accounts, which may differ from real (实际) value. Usually appears in fixed phrases like 账面价值.

noun
an item in accountsan accounting entry

Examples

  • 。
    Zhè bǐ jiāo yì yǐ jīng jì rù zhàng miàn le.
    This transaction has been recorded in the accounts.
  • 账面。
    Gōng sī de zhàng miàn jià zhí bǐ shí jì zī chǎn gāo.
    The company's book value is higher than its actual assets.
  • 账面。
    Kuài jì zhèng zài hé duì zhàng miàn shàng de měi yì bǐ zhàng.
    The accountant is checking every entry on the account surface.

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.

账zhàngaccount
面miànsurface

账 account and 面 surface together mean the face of an account, an accounting entry.

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
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 →

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

面 originally drew a man’s face, with one eye exaggerated; the horizontal stroke was added later.

Open 面 →

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