The use of Taiwanese Mandarin "hui"
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In standard Mandarin, 会 is considered an auxiliary verb, but in Taiwan 会 has an additional usage associated with asking simple yes/no questions.
Structure
Subj. + 会 + Verb Phrase + 吗？
Examples
The following examples shows the differences between Taiwanese Mandarin and Standard Mandarin.
- 你会冷吗？means 你冷不冷？Are you cold?
- 这会辣吗？means 这个辣不辣？Is this spicy?
会 in this context is equivalent to the English verb “to be.” However, it’s the adjective to follow 会 is usually negative. So you would never say 这会好吃吗？because most people like to eat delicious food. If you do say this, the speaker is usually expressing doubt. This usage of 会 can confuse native Chinese speakers as well as Chinese learners. Some could think that the 会 is referring to things in the future or conditional.
