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座谈会 (zuò tán huì) — forum; symposium (formal discussion meeting)

Definition

A formal discussion meeting (座谈) where invited participants exchange views on a topic — smaller and more focused than a 会议, more open-ended than a 论坛.

noun
forumsymposium (formal discussion meeting)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 座谈会，。
    Gōng sī míng tiān zhào kāi yí gè zuò tán huì, tǎo lùn xīn chǎn pǐn.
    The company is holding a symposium tomorrow to discuss new products.
  • 座谈会。
    Duō wèi zhuān jiā cān jiā le zhè cì guān yú huán bǎo de zuò tán huì.
    Many experts attended this forum on environmental protection.
  • ，座谈会。
    Huì shàng, dà jiā jiù jiào yù gǎi gé wèn tí jìn xíng le rè liè de zuò tán huì.
    At the meeting, everyone engaged in a lively symposium on education reform.

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.

座谈seated talk
座zuòseat谈tántalk
偏正Modifier + head
会huìmeeting

座 and 谈 form a seated talk, which is the kind of 会 (meeting).

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
广广guǎnghouse on cliff
Sound part声符shēngfú
坐
坐zuò座zuò
Same sound today

座 pairs 广, a house on a cliff, with 坐 to give the sound.

Open 座 →

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 談; 谈 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánspeech
Sound part声符shēngfú
炎
炎yán談tán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For 谈, the traditional form 談 pairs 言 (speech) with 炎 (yán) as the sound part.

Open 谈 →

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
Communication & Speech

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