座談会 more formal or less formal?

Japanese
#1

Bunpro’s definition: “A meeting or discussion involving multiple participants sitting at a circular table. Usually more formal than a standard meeting.”

数人が集まり、ある問題を中心に、それぞれの意見などを気楽に話し合う会。
(deepl translation: A gathering where several people casually discuss their opinions and ideas centered around a particular issue.)

〘 名詞 〙 人々がある問題を中心にして、形式ばらない状態で話し合う会合。
deepl:〘 Noun 〙 A gathering where people discuss a central issue in an informal setting.

座談会とは、ひとことでいえば「社員と学生が話をする場」で、「学生から会社へ」自由に質問することもでき、リラックスした雰囲気で行われるのが特徴
relaxed atmosphere

This article discusses using 座談会 for recruitment interviews:

カジュアル面談は応募のハードルを下げ、より多くのターゲット人材との出会いが可能になります。
casual interviews.

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#2

This is a bit of a tricky one, I think the purpose of both events are quite different. A meeting 会議 to me feels like it is something centered around one purpose where the people usually share some sort of relation whether it be business or otherwise.

On the other hand, I think maybe the best translation for a 座談会 is perhaps a ‘forum’, where usually quite a few people are gathered to share in the free exchange of ideas, or to have a chance to speak where they usually wouldn’t. ‘More formal’ is probably not the best word choice in the hint here, but I would say that a 座談会 has the potential to be far larger in scale.

Either way, will get this hint changed. Maybe @Chihiro can add a bit further explanation.

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#3

座談会 wouldn’t be ‘more formal’, so the definition on the site should be updated as Asher mentioned :bowing_woman:

For the difference between 会議 and 座談会, we might think of it this way: 会議 usually has an agenda and is held to make decisions, while 座談会 has just a topic or theme and people discuss and share their thoughts.

As an example of how 座談会 is used, in the context of job hunting, companies hold a formal 会社説明会 (company information session) first. Even if the 説明会 includes a Q&A, it’s sometimes followed by a less formal 座談会, where prospective applicants can chat casually with employees.

In another context, 座談会 can refer to a casual discussion session after a 講演会 (lecture). It provides a space where the speaker and the audience can talk about the theme or topic of the 講演会 more freely.

Looking at these examples, it seems like 座談会 is often used as a setting where people who normally interact in a formal way (such as job-related situations, or in the same organizations or events etc.) can switch to casual and have more open, informal conversations. So, I’d say it’s 'less formal’ :smiley_cat:

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#4

I appreciate that you’re willing to take this kind of feedback.

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