花会 (huā huì) — flower fair; flower show; flower exhibition; numbers gambling game; traditional lottery-like game

Definition

花会 has two unrelated senses: a public flower exhibition, and an illegal numbers-lottery game. The event sense is a cultural fair showcasing flowers (often orchids or peonies); the gambling sense is a banned lottery-style game.

noun
flower fairflower showflower exhibitionnumbers gambling gametraditional lottery-like game
Measure word · 个
Easily confused

Examples

  • 花会。
    Měi nián chūn tiān zhè ge chéng shì dōu huì jǔ bàn huā huì.
    Every spring this city holds a flower fair.
  • 花会。
    Zhè cì huā huì zhǎn chū le hěn duō xīn pǐn zhǒng de lán huā.
    This flower show exhibits many new varieties of orchids.
  • 花会，。
    Zhèng fǔ yán lì dǎ jī fēi fǎ huā huì, bǎo hù shè huì zhì xù.
    The government strictly cracks down on illegal numbers gambling games to protect social order.

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.

花huāflower
会huìfair/gathering

花 names the theme, and 会 is a gathering or fair; the word can also refer to a game using flower names.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant
Sound part声符shēngfú
化
化huà花
Same sound today

花 pairs 艹 (grass; plant) with 化, which gives the sound.

Open 花 →

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 →

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