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酒会 (jiǔ huì) — cocktail party; formal party with drinks

Definition

noun
cocktail partyformal party with drinks
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 酒会。
    Wǒ men gōng sī xià zhōu wǔ jǔ xíng yí gè jiǔ huì.
    Our company is holding a cocktail party next Friday.
  • 酒会。
    Wǒ zài jiǔ huì shàng rèn shi le hěn duō xīn péng you.
    I met many new friends at the cocktail party.
  • 酒会。
    Zhè ge jiǔ huì tí gōng le gè zhǒng hóng jiǔ hé diǎn xin.
    This cocktail party offered various red wines and snacks.

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.

酒jiǔwine
会huìgathering

A 会 gathering built around 酒 wine and drinks names a cocktail party.

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
水水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
酉
酉yǒu酒jiǔ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

酒 pairs 酉, the original picture for this word, with 水 (water), added later to distinguish it.

Open 酒 →

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
Friends & Social

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