The word 账户 (zhànghù) is formed by combining two meaningful characters: 账, which originally referred to a ledger or record of debts and credits, and 户, which signifies a household, door, or independent unit. Together, they conceptually merge the idea of a financial record (账) with the idea of an individual or entity's designated access point or compartment (户), creating the modern compound meaning of "account", as in a bank or user account.