账 (zhàng) is a Chinese character meaning “account”. It is written from 贝 (shell) and 长 (long; to grow), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “account”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
贝 + 长
Left–right structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分，经 hanzi-writer-data 笔画数据核验（贝4画 + 长4画 = 8画）
Memory aid
Money (贝, the shell once used as currency) on the left, 长 on the right telling you the sound zhàng — a long shell-by-shell record of what was paid: an account.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 账单zhàng dānbill; invoice账 = zhàng
- 账号zhàng hàoaccount (number); user account账 = zhàng
Go deeper
All readings
account
account; bill; a record of money owed or paid
关于钱物收支的记录；也指债务。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 账单zhàng dānbill; invoice账 = zhàng
- 账号zhàng hàoaccount (number); user account账 = zhàng
Sound component
长 family tone diff
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 账 mean?
账 (zhàng) means account; bill; a record of money owed or paid.
How do you pronounce 账?
It is pronounced zhàng.
What parts is 账 made of?
贝 (shell) and 长 (long; to grow), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分，经 hanzi-writer-data 笔画数据核验（贝4画 + 长4画 = 8画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 账 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 账?
贝. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 账?
Common ones are 账单 and 账号. The reading of 账 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.