<p>They are the same.</p>

<p>Today we recommended to use <code>账户</code> if it is about money.</p>

<p><code>贝</code> mean "money". </p>

<p><code>巾</code> mean "paper".</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-17T01:56:33.233Z
2015-06-17T01:56:33.233Z
Reming Hsu
<p>This question is very interesting.because i have do the same exercise to identify these two phrases:账户 and 帐户. Because we have similar test in college entrance examination.(高考)
There are differences:
贝 is something about money. You may ask why. Because Chinese think people in ancient age use shell as medium to exchange food or other things. That means 贝 is related to money. So if you see something which is related to money ,账户 is used. And in other situation ,we use 帐户.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-09-15T18:57:08.403Z
2015-09-15T18:57:08.403Z
weixihexi
<p>"账" has something with money. For example, you open an account in bank, you should use "账号"。“帐”was once used before 1990s. But the new laws rule that "账" is used when it related with money. But in many cases, people always don't know the difference between them. And they use both of them sometimes. 帐 is related with cloth. For example, "帐篷" means "tent" and is made of cloth. By the way, I am a teacher from han bridge mandarin.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-17T09:02:20.270Z
It seems that many online sites use 账号even when they have no relation to money (such as baidu). Why would this be?
sqrtbottle
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-17T13:48:20.310Z
I meant to say 账户. Not just baidu, but other wikis and sites use 账户 even with no financial aspect to the site..
sqrtbottle
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-17T08:49:45.687Z
2015-06-17T09:58:06.120Z
2015-06-17T09:58:06.120Z
user30939
<p><code>账户</code> is the correct form, and <code>帐户</code> is a common typo seen a lot in online services. </p>

<p><code>账</code> or <code>账本</code> means "books", and <code>记账</code> is the action of "accounting". The word <code>账户</code> means a "bank account", and is also used as "online account" nowadays. </p>

<p><code>帐</code> has meanings related to cloth, like "mosquito net"(蚊帐) or "tent"(帐篷). </p>

<p>P.S. There is no entry for <code>帐户</code> in <em>The Standard Dictionary of Contemporary Chinese</em>. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-18T15:16:49.427Z
2015-06-18T15:16:49.427Z
Jamesits
<p>To my understanding, both mean "account", as in a bank account or online account. 账户 also appears to be the more common (100M search results) compared to 帐户 (about 50M results). What is the difference, if any, between their usage and meaning?</p>

<p>To boot, they have the exact same pronunciation.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-07-12T02:25:02.867Z
The word "帐户/帳戶" equals to "账户/賬戶". It is a mistake in ancient times. You can use them interchangeably. It is exactly right to use "账户/賬戶", "帐户/帳戶" is not recommended.
xenophōn
<word-choice><vocabulary><difference><synonyms>
What's the difference between 帐户 and 账户?
# What's the difference between 帐户 and 账户?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-06-16)

To my understanding, both mean "account", as in a bank account or online account. 账户 also appears to be the more common (100M search results) compared to 帐户 (about 50M results). What is the difference, if any, between their usage and meaning?

To boot, they have the exact same pronunciation.

**Tags:** word-choice, vocabulary, difference, synonyms

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: The word "帐户/帳戶" equals to "账户/賬戶". It is a mistake in ancient times. You can use them interchangeably. It is exactly right to use "账户/賬戶", "帐户/帳戶" is not recommended.  

---

## 4 answers

### Answer by username_5 on 2015-06-18. Score: 19 | Accepted answer

`账户` is the correct form, and `帐户` is a common typo seen a lot in online services.

`账` or `账本` means "books", and `记账` is the action of "accounting". The word `账户` means a "bank account", and is also used as "online account" nowadays.

`帐` has meanings related to cloth, like "mosquito net"(蚊帐) or "tent"(帐篷).

P.S. There is no entry for `帐户` in *The Standard Dictionary of Contemporary Chinese*.


---

### Answer by username_2 on 2015-06-17. Score: 1

They are the same.

Today we recommended to use `账户` if it is about money.

`贝` mean "money".

`巾` mean "paper".


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2015-09-15. Score: 0

This question is very interesting.because i have do the same exercise to identify these two phrases:账户 and 帐户. Because we have similar test in college entrance examination.(高考)
There are differences:
贝 is something about money. You may ask why. Because Chinese think people in ancient age use shell as medium to exchange food or other things. That means 贝 is related to money. So if you see something which is related to money ,账户 is used. And in other situation ,we use 帐户.


---

### Answer by username_4 on 2015-06-17. Score: 0

"账" has something with money. For example, you open an account in bank, you should use "账号"。“帐”was once used before 1990s. But the new laws rule that "账" is used when it related with money. But in many cases, people always don't know the difference between them. And they use both of them sometimes. 帐 is related with cloth. For example, "帐篷" means "tent" and is made of cloth. By the way, I am a teacher from han bridge mandarin.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: It seems that many online sites use 账号even when they have no relation to money (such as baidu). Why would this be?  
> **username_0**: I meant to say 账户. Not just baidu, but other wikis and sites use 账户 even with no financial aspect to the site..  

---

