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约会 (yuē huì) — (noun) a date; an appointment; (verb) to go on a date; to date

Definition

约会 is specifically a romantic or social 'date' (the event or the act of going on one). Use 约 alone for any 'appointment / to arrange to meet'; 约定 emphasizes a prior mutual agreement.

noun
a datean appointment
verb
to go on a dateto date
Measure word · 次, 个

Examples

  • 约会？
    Wǒ men míng tiān wǎn shàng yǒu yuē huì ma?
    Do we have a date tomorrow evening?
  • 约会。
    Zhè zhōu mò wǒ xiǎng hé nǐ yuē huì.
    I want to go on a date with you this weekend.
  • 约会。
    Zhè shì wǒ men dì sān cì yuē huì.
    This is our third date.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

约yuēarrange
会huìmeet

约 gives the sense of arranging, and 会 gives the sense of meeting, so the word names a planned 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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 約; 约 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìrope
Sound part声符shēngfú
勺
勺sháo約yuē
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 約 uses 糸, a rope, for its meaning and 勺 for its sound; the simplified 约 is a later shorthand.

Open 约 →

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 4HSK 2.0 Level 41000 Most Frequent Chinese WordsRomance & Marriage2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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