会話
かいわ · kaiwa · JLPT N4 · noun
conversation
💬 会話 = meet + talk: a conversation is talk that happens when people meet
会 (kai) means to meet, as in 会社 (company) and 会議 (meeting). 話 (wa) means talk or story, the same character as in 電話 (denwa, electric talk = telephone). Meeting plus talking gives conversation.
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.