The use of Taiwanese Mandarin "hui"

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In standard Mandarin, (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.

  • 冷 吗 ?means 你 冷 不 冷 ?huì lěng ma?Are you cold?
  • 这个 辣 吗 ?means 这个 辣 不 辣 ?Zhège huì là ma?Is this spicy?

  • 哭 吗 ?huì kū ma?Is he going to cry?
  • 走 吗 ?huì zǒu ma?Can you walk?
  • 赢 吗 ?huì yíng ma?Can I win?
  • 明天 回家 吗 ?Míngtiān huì huíjiā ma?Will you go home tomorrow?
  • 这 部 电影 上映 吗 ?Zhè bù diànyǐng huì shàngyìng ma?Will the film be shown?
  • 这 个 人 火 吗 ?Zhè gè rén huì huǒ ma?Will this person be hot?
  • 路上 堵 吗 ?Lùshang huì dǔ ma?Will there be traffic jams on the road?
  • 我们 买到 吗 ?Wǒmen huì mǎi dào ma?Are we gonna get it?

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.

See also

Sources and further reading

Websites

HSK5