賬 (zhàng) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

賬

zhàng[zhang4]Tone 4

account, bill, debt

HSK 6

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账

Guru Deep Dive

English · account, bill, debt

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:7

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (贝) must be compact and narrower than the right phonetic component (长), allowing both halves to balance harmoniously within an imaginary square.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 賬 replaces the phonetic component with 長, while the simplified form 账 uses 长 on the right side.

1. Meaning

account, bill, or debt

bookkeeping recordcredit ledger

NounNeutral#finance#business#commerce

Sample Usage

我去付账。
Wǒ qù fù zhàng.
I am going to pay the bill.
这家店可以记账吗？
Zhè jiā diàn kěyǐ jì zhàng ma?
Can this shop put things on my tab/account?

2. Sound

/[ʈ͡ʂɑŋ˥˩]/Tone: 51

賬

zhàngzhang4

`(51)

=zhàng

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Retroflex

Sounds like: j/dr retroflex sound

UnaspiratedRetroflex

Airflow Tactile Test: No burst of air. Tongue curled up. Tissue stays still.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip curled back near hard palate

Final Rhyme

ang

Vowel Group: -a vowel group

Sounds like: ang rhymes with song without the s

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'ahng'.

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T4 (51)

5 → 1 (51)

4th Tone (High-Falling)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 4 starts high and plunges sharply down, just like saying a firm 'No!' or expressing sudden realization ('Oh!').

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the retroflex initial 'zh-' with the alveolar initial 'z-' (sounding like 'ts'), making 'zhàng' sound like 'zàng'.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A sharp nod downward like a commanding downward chop or an authoritative gesture when checking off an entry in a ledger.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 7 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (贝) must be compact and narrower than the right phonetic component (长), allowing both halves to balance harmoniously within an imaginary square.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 賬 replaces the phonetic component with 長, while the simplified form 账 uses 长 on the right side.

4. Components

Radical 贝 · Shell / Money Radical (Money, wealth, valuables)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 贝 (Indicates that the character relates to wealth, money, or financial ledgers.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 长 (original sound: zhǎng)

The shell/money radical (贝) on the left represents currency and valuables, combined with the phonetic component 'long/grown' (长) on the right, signifying long-term financial tracking and account records.

贝 Money / valuables (semantic clue)
长 Phonetic sound clue (zhǎng)

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

7· Phonetic Root: 長 ()

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Formed by combining the ancient currency symbol (贝 shell) with a phonetic sound indicator (长), reflecting how ancient debts and accounts were tracked using cowrie shells and recorded over time.

Semantic Evolution: Originally referred to valuables and shell currency records, it gradually specialized into commercial ledgers, bills, and outstanding debts.

Cowrie shells were historically used as currency in early China, which is why financial characters universally feature 贝.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: チョウ (chō)

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

장

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

You keep a long (长) record of all your money and valuable shells (贝) in your financial account (账).

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

张

zhāngto open, stretch, sheetUses the person/hand/bow radical (弓) instead of shell (贝).

胀

zhàngswollen, bloatedUses the flesh/moon radical (月) to indicate bodily swelling.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

涨(zhǎng)

Uses the water radical (氵), meaning to rise or surge (like rising water levels or price inflation), whereas 账 uses shell (贝) for financial accounts.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

吃完飯後，服務員拿來了[___]單。

Clue: zhàng

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing 账 (account/bill) with 涨 (to rise/inflate) because they share the same phonetic component 长.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see the character 账 with the shell radical and长, what does it mean?

Production: How do you write the character for 'bill' or 'account' (zhàng) using the money radical?

賬zhàngaccount, bill, debt

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