约会

The Chinese word 约会 (yuēhuì) for "date" or "appointment" is composed of two characters: 约 (yuē) and 会 (huì). The character 约 originally meant "to bind" or "to tie" and was often used in the sense of "to make an agreement" or "to promise". The character 会 originally meant "to meet" or "to come together" and was often used in the sense of "a gathering" or "an assembly". When these two characters are combined, they form the word 约会, which literally means "to bind together for a meeting" or "to make an appointment". This word is commonly used in modern Chinese to refer to a romantic date or a social engagement, but it can also be used in a more general sense to refer to any kind of appointment or meeting.