v.
to have a meeting; to hold a meeting
开会
to have a meeting; to hold a meeting
Literally 'open/hold meeting' (开 open/hold + 会 meeting). A separable verb meaning to hold or attend a meeting; say 开个会.
Common Usage & Traps
- 开会 — to have a meeting; to hold a meeting
- 去开会 — to go to a meeting
- 在开会 — to be in a meeting; currently having a meeting
- 开个会 — to have a quick meeting; to have a meeting
- 开完会 — to finish a meeting; after the meeting
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开会北京在北京开会 / 去北京开会The place goes before 开会 or after 去, not after 开会. 开会北京 sounds like you are meeting the city itself.
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我有开会我有个会 / 我要开会有 needs a thing, not an action. A meeting as a thing is 会, so 我有个会 works. 开会 is the action.
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参加开会去开会 / 参加会议参加 takes a noun like 会议, not the action phrase 开会. For casual speech, 去开会 is the safe HSK 3 option.
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开会完开完会完 goes inside 开会, before 会. 开完会 means the meeting is finished.
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开会不开会开不开会Yes/no questions split 开会. 开不开会 is the natural pattern.
How do you say 'have a meeting in Beijing' without making 开会北京?
Put the place before 开会: 在北京开会, or after 去: 去北京开会. Never 开会北京.
Chinese puts the place before the action when the action happens there. If you are already in Beijing, say 在北京开会. If you are traveling there for the meeting, say 去北京开会. The word 开会 stays at the end, so 开会北京 sounds like you are meeting the city itself.
“上个星期，我们公司的六个人去北京开会。” (Last week, six people from our company went to Beijing for a meeting.)
“上个星期，我们公司的六个人去北京开会。” (Last week, six people from our company went to Beijing for a meeting.)
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Location of meeting | 在北京开会 | 开会北京 |
| Destination plus purpose | 去北京开会 | 开会北京 |
| Everyday place order | 我在上海开会 | 我开会上海 |
Can you split 开会, as in 开个会 or 开不开会?
Yes, 开会 splits easily: 开个会, 开完会, 开不开会.
开会 is not a frozen block. Natives often split it to add small pieces: 开个会, 开完会, 开不开会. Use 开个会 for a casual single meeting. Use 开完会 when the meeting is finished. Use 开不开会 for a yes/no question about tomorrow. Avoid 开会完 or 开会不开会, which sound tangled to native ears.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Finished meeting | 开完会 | 开会完 |
| Yes/no question | 明天开不开会？ | 明天开会不开会？ |
| Quick meeting | 开个会 | 开一个会 in daily chat |
How do you say 'I have a meeting'?
Say 我有个会 or 我要开会, not 我有开会.
有 needs a thing, not an action. A meeting as a thing is 会, so 我有个会 is correct. If you mean you are about to attend a meeting, use 我要开会 or 去开会. 我有开会 sounds like you own the act of meeting, which is weird.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| I have a meeting | 我有个会 | 我有开会 |
| I am going to a meeting | 我要开会 | 我有开会 |
| Afternoon plan | 我下午有个会 | 我下午有开会 |
Featured in Story Deep Dive
Follow how this word unfolds across the narrative arc of this graded story.
Read about a work trip to Beijing where a group of colleagues takes a very large airplane. Practice weather words and actions in a simple travel story.
- Scene #1
上个星期，我们公司的六个人去北京 开会 。
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