laan6 zoeng3爛賬烂账
Jyutpinglaan6 zoeng3
Yalelaahn jeung
Definition
Messy accounts or bad debt.
- messy, disorganized, or chaotic accounts
- bad debt; outstanding or long-overdue debt that is unrecoverable
colloquialmoneywork
How it's used
Refers specifically to financial records that are in disarray or debts that are unlikely to be repaid. It carries a negative connotation of mismanagement or a hopeless situation regarding money. It is frequently used in business contexts to describe accounts that have become impossible to reconcile or collect.
Measure word
bat1筆bātExamples
This company has a lot of bad debts to deal with.
Related words
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with 壞賬, which is the formal accounting term for bad debt. 爛賬 is more colloquial and implies a sense of messiness or a headache rather than just a technical financial loss.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- Directional complementsThe small words added after a verb to show direction of movement, like up, down, out, in, and back. Common in everyday Cantonese.
- DemonstrativesThis and that with 呢 and 嗰, the personal pronouns, and how 哋 turns I, you, and he into we, you all, and they.
- Resultative complementsSticking a result word onto a verb to show how it turned out, like eat until full or look and find. A productive everyday pattern.
