会堂 (huì táng) — assembly hall; meeting hall

Definition

noun

assembly hallmeeting hall

Measure word · 座

Examples

会堂。
Rén mín huì táng zhèng zài jǔ xíng zhòng yào huì yì.
An important meeting is being held at the People's Hall.
会堂。
Zhè ge huì táng néng róng nà liǎng qiān rén.
This hall can accommodate two thousand people.
会堂。
Xué shēng men zài huì táng lǐ tīng jiǎng zuò.
The students are listening to a lecture in the hall.

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huìmeeting

堂tánghall

会 means meeting and 堂 means hall, giving a meeting hall.

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

土土tǔ

Sound part声符shēngfú

尚

尚shàng堂táng

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

堂 uses 土 as a ground/earth part and 尚 for sound.

Open 堂 →

Appears in

Buildings & Structures