大会
たいかい · taikai · JLPT N3 · noun
mass meeting
🏆 大会 = big + meeting: a big gathering, like a convention or tournament
大 (tai) means big and 会 (kai) means meeting or gathering, so a taikai is a big meeting. In martial arts the word names a tournament, and you'll also see it on signs for a party's national convention.
大 — pictograph of a person with arms outstretched
大 is a pictograph showing a person standing with arms and legs spread wide. The outstretched arms suggest 'big' or 'great', extending from the literal image of a large stance to abstract meanings like important or grand. It is one of the oldest characters, found on oracle bones.
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.