会合
かいごう · kaigou · JLPT N3 · noun
meeting
🤝 会合 = meet (会) + come together (合): people meet and join up
会 (kai) means to meet, as in 会う (au, to meet). 合 (gō) means to fit or join, as in 合う (au, to match). Together they make a gathering where people meet and join up. 会合 is often a looser get-together than 会議 (kaigi), a formal conference.
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.
合 — 乛 (lid/roof) + 口 (mouth)
Originally a pictograph of a lidded vessel — a cover (亼) closing over an opening (口) — giving the core sense of 'come together, join, fit.' From 'fit/match' it extended to 'combine, unite, agree' and to measure-word uses. The reading hé reflects this 'joining' meaning.