1 · Modal verbs
Can because you learned it: huì
learned ability and likelihood
Huì is “can” for a skill you have learned — and also “will” for what is likely to happen.
English “can” covers skill, possibility and permission; Chinese splits them up. 会 is for skills you have learned: 我会游泳, “I can swim”, 她会说汉语, “she speaks Chinese”. Languages, driving, cooking, playing an instrument — anything you can do because somebody once taught you how.
The negative is 不会, “never learned how”: 我不会开车, “I can’t drive”. The question is 你会做饭吗, and the short answer is just 会 or 不会. With a language, 会 can take the noun directly: 我会一点儿汉语.
With 很 or 真 in front, 会 means “good at”: 他很会做饭, “he is a good cook”. English speakers tend to reach for 能 or 可以 for every “can”; for a skill, 会 is the word.
会 has a second meaning: a prediction, “will (probably)”. 明天会下雨吗 is “will it rain tomorrow?”, and 他不会来的 “he won’t come, I’m sure”. It is not a future tense — Chinese has none — but a statement about what is likely; 的 at the end makes it sound certain.
The form
| can (learned) | 我会游泳。 |
| can’t | 我不会游泳。 |
| question | 你会游泳吗？ |
| good at | 他很会做饭。 |
| will (likely) | 明天会下雨。 |
| won’t (sure) | 他不会来的。 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
会 + verb: a skill you have learned.
我爸爸会弹钢琴。My father can play the piano.
The negative is 不会: you never learned how.
我不会说日语。I can’t speak Japanese.
With 很 or 真 in front, 会 means “good at”.
她真会说话。She really knows how to talk to people.
会 also predicts: something is likely to happen.
今天晚上会很冷。It will be cold this evening.
会 … 的 makes the prediction sound sure.
别担心，他会来的。Don’t worry, he’ll come.
A closer look
Huì and the future
Chinese has no future tense, so “will” is spread over several tools. A time word is often enough: 我明天去, “I’m going tomorrow”. 要 adds intention, “I’m going to”. 会 adds prediction: what the speaker expects to happen, often about things nobody decides — weather, prices, other people’s reactions.
So 我明天会去 is not the plain future of 我明天去; it sounds like a reassurance, “I will go, you can count on it”. Learners who put 会 in front of every future verb sound oddly solemn.
How to spot it
- 会
- 不会
- 很会
- 会…的
Example sentences
你会开车吗？Can you drive?
我会一点儿汉语。I speak a little Chinese.
我女儿三岁就会游泳了。My daughter could swim by the age of three.
他不会用筷子。He can’t use chopsticks.
我觉得明天会下雪。I think it will snow tomorrow.
你这样做，妈妈会生气的。If you do that, Mum will be cross.
7 more example sentences
她会说三种语言。She speaks three languages.
我奶奶不会用电脑。My grandmother can’t use a computer.
我哥哥很会唱歌。My older brother is a great singer.
这么晚了，商店不会开门了。It’s so late, the shops won’t be open any more.
你放心，我不会告诉别人的。Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.
你觉得他会同意吗？Do you think he will agree?
我儿子刚会走路。My son has only just learned to walk.
Worth knowing (1)
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Huì le: the moment a skill arrives
With 了 at the end, 会 marks the change from not knowing how to knowing how: 我会骑自行车了, “I can ride a bike now”.
学了三个月，他会做很多菜了。After three months of lessons, he can cook lots of dishes.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
Meant as “I know how to swim”, the first sentence says something else: 可以 is permission, so it sounds like “I am allowed to swim”. For a skill that was learned, the word is 会.
Huì is what you have learned to do — and what is likely to happen.
Your turn
8 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.