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宴会 (yàn huì) — banquet; feast; formal dinner party

Definition

A formal, large dinner party — bigger and more ceremonial than a casual 饭局, more grand than 应酬 (which is usually work-related socializing).

noun
banquetfeastformal dinner party
Measure word · 席, 个

Examples

  • 宴会。
    Tā cān jiā le yí gè shèng dà de yàn huì.
    He attended a grand banquet.
  • 宴会。
    Wǒ men wèi kè rén zhǔn bèi le yì xí fēng shèng de yàn huì.
    We prepared a sumptuous banquet for the guests.
  • 宴会。
    Zhè ge yàn huì yǒu èr shí dào cài.
    This banquet has twenty dishes.

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.

宴yànformal meal
会huìgathering

宴 means a formal meal and 会 means a gathering; people gather for a formal meal.

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
宀宀mián
Sound part声符shēngfú
妟
妟yàn宴
Same sound today

宴 has 宀, a roof, above 妟, which shows a woman and the sun. 妟 also supplies the sound, and the whole shape pictures a woman under a roof with sunlight.

Open 宴 →

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
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 5Dining & Restaurants5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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