会談

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 会談 is a noun read かいだん, meaning talks between representatives or leaders about an important matter. It forms the verb 会談する.
• Basic usage: It can describe secret talks between two representatives or company leaders meeting and deciding to cooperate.
  • 小説では二人の代表が秘密の会談を行う。 says that two representatives hold secret talks in the novel; 会社の責任者同士が会談し、協力を決めた。 says that the company leaders held talks and decided to cooperate.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• 会談を行う
  • を marks secret talks as what the two representatives conducted.
• 責任者同士が会談する
  • 同士 presents the company leaders as counterparts meeting one another.
• 会談 and 会議
  • 会談 is a formal exchange between representatives or leaders, while 会議 broadly denotes a meeting where participants discuss an agenda.