The use of Taiwanese Mandarin "hui"
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Level
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Similar to
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Used for
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Keywords
In standard Mandarin, 会 (huì) is considered an auxiliary verb, but in Taiwan 会 has an additional usage associated with asking simple yes/no questions.
Structure
Subj. + 会 + Predicate + 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?
- 这个 会 辣 吗 ？means 这个 辣 不 辣 ？Is this spicy?
- 他 会 哭 吗 ？
- 你 会 走 吗 ？
- 我 会 赢 吗 ？
- 明天 会 回家 吗 ？
- 这 部 电影 会 上映 吗 ？
- 这 个 人 会 火 吗 ？
- 路上 会 堵 吗 ？
- 我们 会 买到 吗 ？
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.
