会餐 (huì cān) — to dine together, to have a group meal

Definition

A formal verb meaning 'to dine together as a group', usually for a planned event (company dinner, team meal). More ceremonial and collective than just 吃饭 — it implies an organized gathering rather than casual everyday eating.

verb
to dine togetherto have a group meal

Examples

  • 会餐。
    Wǒ men míng tiān wǎn shàng yì qǐ huì cān ba.
    Let's have a group dinner together tomorrow evening.
  • 。
    Shàng ge yuè wǒ men huì guò yí cì cān.
    We had a group meal once last month.
  • 会餐。
    Gōng sī měi nián dōu huì zǔ zhī yí cì huì cān.
    The company organizes a group dinner every year.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

会huìtogether
餐cāndine

"会" means together, and "餐" means to dine or a meal, so the idea is dining as a group.

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 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
食食shíto eat; meal; food
Sound part声符shēngfú
𣦼
𣦼𣦼餐cān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

餐 combines 食, meaning food or eating, with 𣦼 as the sound part; it originally meant “to swallow.”

Open 餐 →

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