I came across the word かいわ in the Genki Textbook and it was translated as "dialogue". But when I put it into google translate it said it was "たいわ”.
Could someone please explain to me the differences in these two words, with maybe sentence or phrase examples?
thank you
The simple answer is that 会話 is the more common word to describe a dialogue like an everyday conversation, for example, about your day or such. In the context that Genki presents this word, it is a neutral dialogue between two people.
対話, however, is a slightly more advanced term with a different connotation; it is also dialogue but in the context of an argument, not the kind where people are arguing with each other, but where people discuss a topic with contexts and deliberation.
Breaking down the kanji to understand:
会話 -- dialogue
会 -- meeting, gathering, party
話 -- tale, talk対話 -- dialogue
対 -- vis-a-vis, opposite, even
話 -- tale, talk
