account 、 accounting 和accountant
account 有很多意思，常見的主要是“說明、解釋；計算、帳單；銀行帳戶”。例如：
1、 he gave me a full account of his plan。他把計畫給我做了完整的說明。
2、 charge it to my account。把它記在我的帳上。
3、 cashier： good afternoon。 can i help you ？銀行出納：下午好，能為您做什麼？
man ： i'd like to open a bank account .男人：我想開一個銀行存款帳戶。
還有 account title（帳戶名稱、會計科目）、income account（收益帳戶）、account book（帳簿）等。
在 account 後面加上詞綴 ing 就成為 accounting ，其意義也相應變為會計、會計學。例如：
1、accounting is a process of recording, classifying，summarizing and interpreting of those business activities that can be expressed in monetary terms. 會計是一個以貨幣形式對經濟活動進行記錄、分類、匯總以及解釋的過程。
2、it has been said that accounting is the language of business. 據說會計是“商業語言”
3、accounting is one of the fastest growing profession in the modern business world.會計是當今經濟社會中發展最快的職業之一。
4、 financial accounting and managerial accounting are two major specialized fields in accounting. 財務會計和管理會計是會計的兩個主要的專門領域。
其他還有 accounting profession（會計職業）、accounting elements（會計要素）等。
accountant 比account只多ant三個字母，其意思是會計師、會計人員。例如：
1、a certified public accountant or cpa, as the term is usually abbreviated, must pass a series of examinations, after which he or she receives a certificate.註冊會計師（或，註冊會計師的縮寫），必須通過一系列考試方可取得證書。
2、private accountant , also called executive or administrative accountant, handle the financial records of a business.私人會計師，也叫做主管或行政會計師，負責處理公司的財務帳目。
總之，這三個詞，有很深的淵源關係。
assets、liabilities 和owner's equity
這三個詞分別是資產、負債和所有者權益，是會計等式的三個要素。
assets 這個詞表示資產時一定要用複數形式，即詞尾要有 “s”。如果不用複數形式，就成為“寶物，天賦、技能”的意思。例如：
1、 assets are properties that are owned and have monetary values；for instance，cash，inventory，buildings，equipment. 資產是指企業所擁有的、具有貨幣價值的財產，如現金、存貨、建築物、設備。
2、 assets are the economic resources that are owned or controlled by a business and can be expressed in monetary units. 資產是由企業擁有或控制並能用貨幣計量的經濟資源。
3、 assets can be classified into current assets and non-current assets . 資產可以劃分為流動資產和非流動資產。
liabilities 是liability 的複數形式。它的意思是法律上的責任、義務。如 liability for an accident （肇事的責任）；liability to pay taxes （納稅的義務）。只有其為複數形式 liabilities 時才表示負債、債務的意思。例如：
1、 liabilities are the obligations or debt that a business must pay in money or services at some time in the future. 負債是指將來需用貨幣或服務償還的債務或履行的義務。
2、 liabilities are amounts owned to outsiders, such as notes payable, accounts payable, bonds payable. 負債是欠外部的數額，如應付票據、應付帳款、應付債券。
owner's equity 是由 owner (所有者、業主)和equity （權益）構成為“業主權益”。例如：
1、 owner's equity represents the owner's interest in or claim upon a business net assets which is the deference between the amount of assets and the amount of liabilities. 業主權益代表業主對企業淨資產的權益或要求權，淨資產是指企業的資產總額與負債之間的差額。
2、 capital is the interest of the owners in an enterprise. also known as owner's equity. 資本是企業所有者的利益，也稱為業主權益。
3、 owner's equity include owner “s investment in a business and accumulated operating results since the beginning of the operation. 業主權益包括業主的投資以及企業自開業以來積累的經營成果。
上述會計要素相互之間的關係用一個簡單的數學公式來表示，就是會計恆等式：
assets=liabilities+owner's equity
資產=負債+業主權益
ledgers 和 journals
ledgers 在簿記上是分類帳的意思，可以和其他辭彙搭配，構成許多會計辭彙。如ledger accounts（分類帳戶）、general ledger（總分類帳）、subsidiary ledger（明細分類帳）等。例如：
1、 ledger accounts are used to record business transactions' effect on an accounting entity. 分類帳戶被用來記錄交易對會計主體的影響。
2、a ledger account is simply a record of changes （increase and decrease）and balances in value of a specific accounting item. 分類帳戶不過是特定會計項目價值的變動（增加與減少）和結餘的記錄。
3、the general ledger is the book used to list all the accounts established by an organization.
總分類帳是一本列出一個單位所設立的全部帳戶的帳本。
4、further simplification of the general ledger is brought about by the use of subsidiary ledger.
使用明細分類帳使總分類帳更加簡化明了。
5、the advantages of subsidiary ledger are as following：（1）reduces ledger detail ；（2）permits better division of labor；（3）permits a different sequence of accounts；（4）permits better internal control。
明細分類帳的優點如下；（1）減少分類帳的細節；（2）使勞動分工更合理；（3）允許不同的帳戶排序（4）便於更好地內部控制。
journal 比較常用的意思是“日記、日誌；雜誌、刊物”，如keep a journal （記日誌）、a ship's journal (航海日誌)，a monthly journal (月刊)，單詞 diary 也有“日記”的意思，但journal 比 diary 更強調“正式記錄”。journal 在會計辭彙上的意思是“日記帳”。例如：
1、in a western accounting system ,the information about each business transaction is initially recorded in an accounting record called a journal. 在西方會計體系中，有關每筆經濟交易的資料最初是記在一本叫做“日記帳”的會計帳上。
2、a journal is a chronological(arrange in order of time ) record of business transactions. 日記帳是對經濟交易的序時（即按時間的順序）記錄。
3、in a journal entry, the debits and credits for given transaction are recorded together, but when the transaction is recorded in the ledger, the debits and credits are entered in different accounts. 在日記帳上記帳時，既定交易的借方和貸方一起被記錄，但在分類帳記錄中，一筆交易的借方和貸方進入不同的帳戶中。
4、a journal may be a general journal or it may be a group of special journals. 日記帳可以是一本通用日記帳，也可以是一組特種日記帳。
current assets、fixed assets 和 current liabilities
current 是一個很有意思的辭彙。它既可以是形容詞，也可以是名詞。作為形容詞，current 意思是“通用的、流通的，現在的”，如 current money（通貨），current english（現代英語），current fashion（目前流行的風尚）；作為名詞，current 的意思是“水流、氣流，電流，動向、潮流”，如 the current of a river （河的水流），the cold current （寒流），a direct current （直流電），the current of public opinion（輿論的動向）。在這裡，還要特別提到英國的兩種存款 current account （活期存款，也相當於美國銀行中的 checking account ）和deposit account （儲蓄存款，也相當於美國銀行中的 savings account ）。如果你到英國銀行對櫃員說：“could you tell me what sorts of accounts there are ？”（您能告訴我有幾種什麼存款嗎？）銀行櫃員就會說：“well，there are basically two types of accounts .there's a current account and a deposit account. with the current account you can pay for things by cheque, but you don't earn any interest . with the deposit account ,you earn interest ,but you can't pay for things by cheque……”（基本上有兩種存款，一種活期存款，一種儲蓄存款；活期存款你可以用支票支付，但沒有利息；儲蓄存款可以掙到利息，但不能用支票支付。）
current assets 就是“流動資產”。例如：
1、current assets are the assets reasonably expected to be converted into cash or used in the current operation of the business.(the current period is generally taken as one year.) examples are cash, notes receivable, accounts receivable, inventory , and prepaid expenses. 流動資產指的是有充分理由認為在當期經營活動中轉換成現金或被使用的資產(一般是一年期)。現金、應收票據、應收帳款、存貨以及預付的費用都屬於流動資產。
說到流動資產，就不能不提到另一個辭彙 fixed assets（固定資產）。例如：
2、fixed assets are the long-lived assets used in the production of goods or services. these assets, sometime called non-current assets, are used in the operation of business rather than being held for sale. 固定資產是在產品和服務的生產過程中使用的壽命較長的資產。這些資產有時稱為非流動資產，是公司經營中為了使用而不是為銷售而置備的資產。
current liabilities 就是“流動負債”。例如：
3、current liabilities . debts which must be satisfied from current assets within the next operating period, usually one year. examples are accounts payable, notes payable, the current portion of long-term debt, and various accrued items such as salaries payable and taxes payable. 流動負債。在下一個經營期間，通常是一年內必須用流動資產償還的債務。應付帳款、應付票據、長期債務的當期分攤額，以及諸如應付工資和應付稅款等種種應計項目都是流動負債。
receivable 、payable和 prepaid
將receivable 和payable 兩個詞稍加比較，不難發現它們後面的四個字母相同，都有-able ，這是英語辭彙構成的後綴之一。這個詞綴緊接在動詞之後，使動詞變成形容詞，表示“能夠…、適於…、可…、應…”。receive（收到、接受）加上- able 成為receivable，其意義也相應成為“能收的、應收的”；同樣pay（付款、支付）加上-able 也相應成為“應付的”。這裡要特別提到的是，動詞後綴有-able 所形成的形容詞，和一般形容詞不同，在修飾名詞時，它不在名詞之前而在名詞之後。例如accounts receivable（應收帳款）、accounts payable （應付帳款）、notes receivable（應收票據）、notes payable（應付票據）。下面舉出幾個句子來操練一下這幾個會計辭彙：
1、a business with many credit customers would set up the general ledger accounts receivable account for all credit customers and a separate account for each credit customer. 有很多賒購客戶的企業應設定一個應收帳款總分類帳戶，登記所有賒購客戶欠的貨款，並為每個賒購客戶設定一個明細帳戶。
2、accounts receivable are often classified as current assets. 應收帳款通常歸入流動資產。
3、accounts receivable arise when a business sells goods and service on credit. 當企業以賒帳方式銷售產品或提供服務時，就產生應收帳款。
4、a promissory note is regarded as notes receivable for the payee and notes payable for the maker. 本票對受款人來說是應收票據，對出票人來說則是應付票據。
5、notes receivable which can be collected and converted into cash during next accounting year or operating cycle are classified as current assets and are recorded at face value. 能在下一個會計年度或下一個經營周期收回和轉換成現金的應收票據，歸入流動資產，並按面值入帳。
6、accounts payable and notes payable are typical example of current liabilities. 應付帳款和應付票據是流動負債的典型例子。
7、as stated above, accounts payable and notes payable are usually created by a company's economic activities, such as purchases of merchandise and services received in the normal course of business. 如前所述，應付帳款和應付票據通常產生於企業的經營活動，例如在正常經營過程中的賒帳購買商品和接受服務。
prepaid（預付的） 這個詞和前面的pay 關係非常密切,實際上就是在pay 的過去分詞paid 前加上一個前綴pre-，這個前綴表示“前、預先”之意，合起來就是“預付的”。例如：
8、assume that a business paid a $1200 premium on april 1 for one year's insurance in advance. this represents an increase in one asset (prepaid expense) and a decrease in another asset (cash). thus, the entry would be :
dr. prepaid expenses—prepaid insurance $1200
cr. cash $1200
假設，一個公司4月1日支付了1200美圓的保險費預付一年的保險費。這意味著一種資產（預付費用）的增加，另一種資產（現金）的減少。因此，會計分錄應為：
借：預付費用—預付保險費 1200美圓
貸：現金 1200美圓
inventory（存貨）
inventory （存貨），在會計英語辭彙中是最基本的辭彙之一，與這個辭彙有關的辭彙，比如與存貨計價有關的方法，在會計報表及其說明解釋中是經常可以見到的，因此，就讓我們將它們放在一起來漫談。例如：
1、inventory must be measured at the acquisition cost in conformity with the historical cost principle. 存貨必須遵循歷史成本原則按取得成本計價。
2、in manufacturing business there are three major types of inventories: raw materials, goods in process of manufacture, and finished goods. 對於工業企業而言，主要有三類存貨：原材料、半成品和產成品。
下面這幾個都是存貨計價的專門辭彙，不能不談到。
specific identification method （個別辨認法）
3、under the specific identification method, the specific actual cost is assigned to each unit. 在個別辨認法下，要按每一存貨項目辨認實際成本。
4、average-cost method （平均成本法）
average cost is computed by dividing the total cost of goods available for sale by the number of units available for sale. 可供銷售的商品成本總值除以可供銷售的商品數量就得到平均單位成本。
5、first-in, first-out method （先進先出法）
under the first-in, first-out method, it is assumed that the first units acquired are the first ones sold; ending inventory is valued at the most recent purchase prices. 在先進先出法下，假設企業首先銷售最早購入的商品，期末存貨按最近的購貨價格計價。
6、last-in, first-out method （後進先出法）
the title of this method suggests that the most recently acquired goods are sold first, and that the ending inventory consists of “old” goods acquired in the earliest purchases. 這種方法的名稱意味著最後購進的商品最先銷售出去，而期末存貨由那些最早購入的“老”存貨構成。
long-term assets 和 long-term liabilities
long-term（長期的）和assets、liabilities結合，分別構成long-term assets（長期資產）和long-term liabilities（長期負債）。
long-term assets（長期資產）也有寫成long-lived assets 的，與fixed assets（固定資產）、plant and equipment（廠房和設備），甚至還有property（財產）相互重疊。請看幾個例句：
1、long-term assets are characterized by highly economic values, physical and nonphysical substance, useful life of more than one accounting period. 長期資產有如下特徵：經濟價值高，具有實物形態或不具有實物形態，使用年限超過一個會計期間。
2、long-term assets are classified into tangible assets and intangible assets. 長期資產可以分為有形資產和無形資產。
3、tangible assets include land, buildings, plant and equipment. 有形資產包括土地、房屋、廠房和設備
4、the term plant and equipment is used to describe long-lived assets acquired for use in the operation of the business and not intended for resale to customers. 術語“廠房和設備”用來描述企業為經營使用而購買並不打算再出售給顧客的長期資產。
5、the term fixed assets has long been used in accounting literature to describe all types of plant and equipment. 長期以來，會計文獻一直使用“固定資產”這一名詞來代表各種廠房和設備。
6、the term intangible assets is used to describe assets which are used in the operation of the business but no physical substance, and non-current. 無形資產是指套用於企業的經營活動，但沒有實物形態且非流動的資產。
7、intangible assets include goodwill, patents, trademarks, copyrights, and franchise. 無形資產包括商譽、專利權、商標、著作權，以及專營權。
long-term assets（長期負債）是企業由於過去交易事實或行為而產生的，並將於一年或超過一年的一個營業周期以上償還的債務。一般有應付公司債券、應付長期票據等。例如：
8、long-term liabilities are obligations that do not qualify as current liabilities. mortgages payable, long-term leases, long-term notes payable, and bond payable are a few examples of long-term liabilities. 長期負債是指不符合流動負債條件的負債。應付抵押借款、長期租賃、應付長期票據，以及應付債券都是長期負債的一些例子。
9、long-term liabilities are measured in accordance with historical cost principle. 長期負債按照歷史成本原則計量。
10、bonds payable are the typical example of long-term liabilities. 應付債券是長期負債的典型例子。