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聚餐 (jù cān) — to have a group meal, to dine together

Definition

聚餐 is a group meal with friends, family, or coworkers. 聚会 is the broader 'get-together' (any activity); 用餐/就餐 are formal 'dining', not specifically a group event.

verb
to have a group mealto dine together

Examples

  • 聚餐。
    Wǒ men bān zhè ge zhōu mò jù cān.
    Our class is having a group meal this weekend.
  • 聚餐。
    Péng you yì qǐ jù cān hěn yǒu yì si.
    Having a group meal with friends is very interesting.
  • 聚餐。
    Wǒ men gōng sī měi nián jù cān liǎng cì.
    Our company has group dinners twice a year.

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.

聚jùgather
餐cānmeal

聚 (gathered together) specifies the 餐 (meal), giving a group dining event.

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
乑乑yínthree men
Sound part声符shēngfú
取
取qǔ聚jù
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

聚 is built from 取, which gives the sound, and 乑, drawn as three men, to show people coming together.

Open 聚 →

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
食食shíto eat; meal; food
Sound part声符shēngfú
𣦼
𣦼𣦼餐cān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

餐 combines 食, meaning food or eating, with 𣦼 as the sound part; it originally meant “to swallow.”

Open 餐 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4Dining & Restaurants

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