1.
dinner party; meal gathering; get-together over a meal
A social gathering centered on sharing a meal together, typically at a restaurant or in someone's home. Less formal than a banquet (宴会) and usually smaller in scale, often held to celebrate an occasion, welcome or farewell someone, or simply deepen relationships.
食事会を開く。
To hold a dinner party.
来週、家族で食事会がある。
Next week, we have a family dinner gathering.
同窓会の後、近くのレストランで食事会をした。
After the reunion, we had a meal gathering at a nearby restaurant.
結婚の報告のため、両家の親を招いて食事会を行った。
To announce our marriage, we invited the parents of both families and held a dinner gathering.
Formed from 食事 (meal) + 会 (gathering, meeting). A general-purpose term for any meal-centered social event, less ceremonial than 宴会 (banquet) and less purely social than 飲み会 (drinking party).
USAGE:
- Used for a wide variety of occasions: family get-togethers, business lunches, celebration meals, introductions between families before marriage.
- The venue can be a restaurant, private dining room, or home.
- In business contexts, a 食事会 with clients or colleagues is typically more formal than a 飲み会 and the focus is on conversation and relationship-building rather than drinking.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 食事会を開く: to hold a dinner gathering
- 食事会を行う: to conduct a meal gathering (more formal)
- 食事会に招く: to invite (someone) to a meal gathering
- 食事会に参加する: to participate in a meal gathering
- 歓迎食事会: welcome dinner gathering
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 飲み会: drinking party — focus is on drinking, typically casual
- 宴会: banquet — larger, more formal, often with set seating and speeches
- 会食: dining together — more formal, often used in business settings
- ランチ会: lunch gathering — specifically during lunchtime, often casual