会谈
huìtán · HSK 5
talk
💬 会 (meet) + 谈 (talk) = a meeting where people talk
会 means to meet or gather; 谈 means to discuss or chat. Together 会谈 is a formal talk or meeting between parties — think diplomatic talks or business negotiations.
会 — 人 person on top + 云 cloud/say below (simplified from 會)
The traditional form 會 showed a lid over a vessel with contents stacked inside, depicting things coming together — hence 'meet, gather, assemble.' From 'gathering' it extended to 'meeting,' then 'understand' (minds meeting) and 'be able to.' The simplified 会 keeps only a schematic top and bottom.
谈 — speech radical 讠 + flame 炎
谈 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The left side 讠 (speech) gives the meaning, indicating something said or discussed. The right side 炎 (flame, blaze) originally suggested the phonetic value and evokes lively, animated talk — like words flowing in conversation.