会
can; to have the skill; to know how to; to be likely to; to be sure to; to meet; to get together; meeting; gathering; (suffix) union; group; association; (bound form) a moment (Taiwan pr. [hui3]); (bound form) to reckon accounts
Closest English meanings
meet·can·meeting·association
The Calligrapher — Mǐ Fú 米芾
Song eccentric genius of dynamic, 'flying' running script.
Song calligrapher (1051–1107), master of running script — Song eccentric genius ('crazy Zhang, idiot Mi') whose running script alternates discipline with glee. Song dynasty
Cultural Story
會 showed a gathering under a roof, to meet, to assemble, the confluence of paths and people. The 說文 reads it as to gather, to reckon. 社會 was the community at the altar; 會計 the one who reckoned the accounts. 開會 is the council convoked. The character is the coming-together, the moment separate lines become a roomful, the count taken when everyone arrives.
Common words & phrases
- 会议 meeting · conference · session
- 机会 opportunity · chance
- 社会 society · community
- 开会 hold a meeting · meet
- 学会 learn · master · society
- 会计 accountant · accounting
Read the story behind the character
会议 is the calendar's tyrant; 机会 the chance you missed. 社会 is the society and the news; 开会 the meeting that ate the afternoon. 学会 is the society and the skill you finally picked up; 会计 the accountant and the exam. The character names the assembly, the meeting, the chance, the body. It still means the gathering under the roof, the reckoning taken when the separate arrive and become a we.
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