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午餐会 (wǔ cān huì) — luncheon; a formal lunch meeting or event

Definition

noun
luncheona formal lunch meeting or event
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 午餐会。
    Zhè cì wǔ cān huì shì wèi le qìng zhù gōng sī chéng lì shí zhōu nián.
    This luncheon is to celebrate the company's tenth anniversary.
  • 午餐会。
    Wǒ míng tiān yào cān jiā yí gè shāng wù wǔ cān huì.
    I need to attend a business luncheon tomorrow.
  • 午餐会。
    Qǐng què rèn nín shì fǒu cān jiā zhè chǎng wǔ cān huì.
    Please confirm whether you will attend this luncheon.

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.

午餐noon meal
午wǔnoon餐cānmeal
偏正Modifier + head
会huìmeeting

午餐 noon meal and 会 meeting combine to mean a luncheon.

Characters in this word

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

The shape of 午 comes from a drawing of a pestle, a heavy tool used for pounding.

Open 午 →

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 →

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 →
Appears in
Business & CommerceDining & Restaurants

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