座談会
ざだんかい · zadankai · JLPT N1 · noun
round-table discussion
🪑 座 seat + 談 talk + 会 meeting = a meeting where everyone sits down to talk
座 means seat, 談 means talk, and 会 means meeting. Put together, they describe a round-table gathering where participants sit down to discuss a topic.
座 — 广 (shelter) + 坐 (to sit)
Originally written as 坐, meaning 'to sit' (two people 人人 sitting on the ground 土). The shelter radical 广 was added to specify the place where one sits — a seat, throne, or platform. 坐 remained the verb 'to sit,' while 座 became the noun 'seat.'
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.