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谈话 (tán huà) — (verb) to talk; to have a conversation

Definition

谈话 is a general verb for 'to talk / have a conversation,' usually with a specific person on a topic. Compared to 对话 (more formal, often between sides) and 交谈 (mutual, back-and-forth chat), it stays neutral and everyday.

verb
to talkto have a conversation
Measure word · 次

Examples

  • 谈话。
    Wǒ men míng tiān yì qǐ tán huà ba.
    Let's have a talk together tomorrow.
  • 谈话。
    Tā men zài tú shū guǎn tán huà.
    They are talking in the library.
  • 。
    Wǒ gēn tā tán guò yí cì huà.
    I have talked with him once.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

谈tántalk
话huàwords

谈 means to talk and 话 means words, so together they mean to converse.

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 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 話; 话 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánword
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠯑
𠯑𠯑話huà
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 話, 言 relates to words and 𠯑 gives the sound; the simplified 话 is a shorthand, so its right side is not that sound part.

Open 话 →
Appears in
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