会

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 会 (reading かい) is a noun for a gathering held for a shared purpose, an occurrence of that gathering, or the group that organizes it.
• Basic usage: It is used for scheduled events such as a monthly community gathering or the next meeting of a reading group.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Event and organization
  • 読書の会 may mean the gathering itself, while other contexts use 会 for an ongoing association.
• An occurrence of a meeting
  • 次の会 means the next session; this noun differs in reading and function from the verb 会う, “to meet.”