How to Write 账 (zhàng) — Meaning “account; bill; debt”

Imagine a long (长) line of shell money (贝) that you need to count—this is your account or bill. The visual of stretching coins in a row reminds you that 账 means a financial record, like a long list of money owed.

When writing 账, the left radical 贝 is narrow, and the right part 长 is wider, so keep the character balanced horizontally. Pay attention to the stroke order: the left side 贝 is written first (vertical, horizontal, left-falling, dot), then the right side 长 (horizontal, vertical, horizontal, right-falling). A common mistake is making the right side too short or skipping the dot on 贝.

账 has the 贝 radical and means account or bill, focusing on money. 贞 (zhēn) means chaste or loyal, and does not involve finances. 负 (fù) means to carry, owe, or negative, and while it can relate to debt (e.g., 负债), it does not refer to a record or account like 账 does.

账 is commonly used in everyday settings like restaurants, where you say 结账 (jié zhàng) to ask for the bill. It also appears in 账号 (zhàng hào) for online account numbers, and 记账 (jì zhàng) for bookkeeping. In Chinese culture, keeping clear accounts (算账 suàn zhàng) is seen as important for trust and fairness in business and personal relationships.

Common words containing 账 include: 结账 (jié zhàng) — To pay the bill.; 账号 (zhàng hào) — account number; ID; 记账 (jì zhàng) — To keep accounts / Bookkeeping.