TongTong
Sign in

会面 (huì miàn) — to meet (formally, for a discussion or appointment)

Definition

A formal verb meaning 'to meet' (often pre-arranged, between officials or sides). 碰 (HSK 5) is the casual 'bump into'; 会见 and 会晤 are also formal but more often used for receiving visitors or leaders.

verb
to meet (formally, for a discussion or appointment)

Examples

  • 会面。
    Liǎng guó yuán shǒu jiāng zài xià zhōu huì miàn.
    The two heads of state will meet next week.
  • 。
    Wǒ hé tā qù nián huì guò yí cì miàn.
    I met with him once last year.
  • 会面。
    Shuāng fāng yuē dìng míng tiān xià wǔ sān diǎn huì miàn.
    Both sides agreed to meet at 3 p.m. tomorrow.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

会huìmeet
面miànface

To meet face to face: 会 means meet, 面 means face.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 會; 会 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
合合héto meet
Sound part声符shēngfú
𡆧
𡆧𡆧會huì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

Traditional 會 pairs 合 (to meet) with 𡆧, an original form for ironware, to give the sound. The simplified 会 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

Open 会 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

面 originally drew a man’s face, with one eye exaggerated; the horizontal stroke was added later.

Open 面 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Friends & Social5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.