结账 (jiézhàng) · to pay the bill

结账 (jiézhàng) means “to pay the bill; to check out”. It is written with 2 characters: 结 (knot) + 账 (accounts). It is an HSK 4 word in the current exam syllabus (2025).

How 结账 is built

The characters

结 jié · knot

What 结 is made of

纟sī — silk
- 一 — horizontal stroke
吉jí — lucky
- 士shì — scholar
- 口kǒu — mouth
  - 冂 — frame
  - 一 — horizontal stroke

Origin hint: 纟 gives the meaning, 吉 gives the sound. (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)

账 zhàng · accounts

What 账 is made of

贝bèi — sea shell
- 冂 — frame
  - 丨 — vertical stroke
- 人rén — person
长zhǎng — long
- 一 — horizontal stroke

Example sentences

服务员，我们要结账。Fúwùyuán, wǒmen yào jiézhàng.Waiter, we'd like the bill.

今天我来结账吧。Jīntiān wǒ lái jiézhàng ba.Let me pay the bill today.

Questions about 结账

What does 结账 mean?

结账 (jiézhàng) means “to pay the bill; to check out”.

How do you pronounce 结账?

结账 is pronounced jiézhàng.

Which HSK level is 结账?

结账 is in HSK 4 (exam 2025) and Old HSK 5.

Related words

Learn 结账 with its group

It is part of Old HSK 5 · Group 51: a short group with quick checks and spaced repeats.

Open the group