Meaning of 社会
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- society
How to use 社会
社会 (shèhuì) means society in a broad sense and often appears in phrases like 社会问题 (social problems) or 进入社会 (to enter society, start working life). Example: 这是一个很大的社会问题。(Zhè shì yí ge hěn dà de shèhuì wèntí.) This is a big social problem.
社 (shè) has the spirit radical 礻 next to 土 (tǔ, earth), like people gathering at a local earth altar. Add 会 (huì, to meet, a gathering), and you get people meeting together as a society.
Common mistake: Learners often write 礻 in 社 as 衤 (the clothing radical), which has an extra stroke. Also keep 会 in fourth tone (huì) here, and do not confuse 社会 with 社交 (shèjiāo), which means socializing with people.
社会 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
社 shè · society · 7 strokes
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会 huì · can · 6 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 社会.
| 一会儿 | yīhuìr | a moment; a while |
| 开会 | kāihuì | to hold or attend a meeting |
| 机会 | jīhuì | opportunity; chance |
| 晚会 | wǎnhuì | evening party |
| 音乐会 | yīnyuèhuì | concert |
| 那会儿 | nàhuìr | at that time (in the past or the future); also pr. [nei4 hui4 r5] |
| 不一会儿 | bù yīhuìr | |
| 会议 | huìyì | meeting; conference |
| 体会 | tǐhuì | to know from experience; to learn through experience |
| 演唱会 | yǎnchànghuì | vocal recital or concert |
| 会员 | huìyuán | member |
| 旅行社 | lǚxíngshè | travel agency |
Questions about 社会
What does 社会 mean?
社会 (shèhuì) means "society" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 社会?
社会 is made of 2 characters: 社 (7 strokes), 会 (6 strokes). That is 13 strokes in total.
Is 社会 an HSK word?
Yes. 社会 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 社会 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 社会 is written 社會.
How do you say social media or social sciences in Chinese?
Social sciences is 社会科学 (shèhuì kēxué). Social media is usually 社交媒体 (shèjiāo méitǐ), using 社交 rather than 社会.
What does 社会 mean in internet slang?
Online, people sometimes call someone 很社会 (hěn shèhuì) to mean they act tough or streetwise, like a gangster. This is casual slang, so stick to the standard meaning in formal writing.