会议
meeting; conference
huìyì
What does 会议 mean?
会议 (huìyì) is a noun meaning 'meeting' or 'conference' — any organized gathering for discussion, decision-making, or presentation. Literally 'gather-discuss,' it covers everything from a small office meeting to a national congress (人民代表大会 'People's Congress'). Two notes for English speakers: first, 会议 is the noun; the verb 'to have/hold a meeting' is 开会 (kāihuì) — 我现在在开会 'I'm in a meeting right now.' Don't try to verb 会议.
Second, the casual word 会 alone can also mean 'meeting' in spoken Chinese (开会 'have a meeting,' 散会 'meeting's over'), but 会 has many other meanings (can; will; club). 会议 is unambiguous and works in business and formal contexts. Common pairings: 视频会议 (video conference), 部门会议 (department meeting), 国际会议 (international conference).
Note: Slightly more formal than the casual
Character breakdown
to gather; meeting; can; will
to discuss; deliberation
Memory hook: 会 (gather) + 议 (discuss) — people gather to discuss things.
Measure word for 会议
Example sentences
明天上午有一个会议。
Míngtiān shàngwǔ yǒu yí ge huìyì.
There's a meeting tomorrow morning.
neutral
她去北京参加国际会议了。
Tā qù Běijīng cānjiā guójì huìyì le.
She went to Beijing to attend an international conference.
neutral
会议室在三楼。
Huìyìshì zài sān lóu.
The meeting room is on the third floor.
neutral
这次会议很重要，大家都要来。
Zhè cì huìyì hěn zhòngyào, dàjiā dōu yào lái.
This meeting is important, everyone needs to come.
neutral
Common phrases with 会议
Synonyms
会 is the short colloquial form. 开会 (have a meeting) is more common in casual office speech than 开会议. 会议 sounds more formal and is preferred in writing, in titles, and when the meeting is significant.
讨论会 is specifically a 'discussion meeting / seminar' — focused on discussion rather than announcements or decisions. 会议 is general. A staff meeting where the boss talks at you is 会议, not 讨论会.
聚会 is a 'gathering / get-together' — social, friendly
Don't confuse 会议 with
会 alone has many meanings beyond 'meeting' (modal verb 'can,' 'will,' 'meeting,' 'club'). 会议 specifically means 'a meeting (event).' To avoid ambiguity in formal contexts, use 会议.
Same two characters reversed. 议会 means 'parliament / legislature' (英国议会 'British Parliament'). 会议 means 'meeting.' Word order flips the meaning entirely.
会面 means 'to meet face-to-face / have an encounter' — often used for diplomatic or business meetings between specific people. 会议