(huì) - can, to know how to; will; meeting in Mandarin

huì

Traditional: 會

HSK 1

#31 of 5,000 Core 1000

Translation

can, to know how to; will; meeting

Word origin

会 (huì) means 'can, to know how to; meeting'. It is the simplified form of 會, which depicted a lid over a container of gathered things, conveying the idea of coming together; the senses of 'meeting' and 'being able' developed from this.

Origin: compound
Root: 会 (simplified from 會, a lid over gathered contents, suggesting coming together)

Stroke order

会

Examples

？

Can you speak Chinese?

。

He will come tomorrow.

。

I do not know how to swim.

语yǔ言yán。

She speaks three languages.

雨yǔ。

It may rain this afternoon.

会 (huì) carries two primary modal meanings: ability acquired through learning (knowing how to do something) and future probability or prediction (something will happen). This distinguishes it from 能 (néng), which expresses capacity or permission in the moment rather than learned skill or future expectation.

The traditional form 会 shows a complex structure combining "gathering" with a phonetic element - the character originally meant "to gather, to meet," a meaning preserved in 开会 (kāihuì, to hold a meeting) and 机会 (jīhuì, opportunity). Simplified to 会, it now most commonly functions as the modal "can/will" in everyday speech.

Where this fits

The 1,000 most common Mandarin words

Where this word sits in the core vocabulary, and what to learn around it.

Mandarin vocabulary by HSK level

How many words each level actually needs, with real counts.

Mandarin learning guides

Podcasts, pronunciation traps and the things a word list cannot teach.

Appears in 11 words

Multi-character compounds in the corpus that contain 会.

不会bú huìcannot, does not know how to; will not 机会jī huìopportunity, chance, occasion 约会yuē huìdate, appointment, rendezvous 一会儿yí huì era moment, a little while, in a moment 一会yí huìa moment, a little while 将会jiāng huìwill, shall, be going to 只会zhī huìcan only, will only 社会shè huìsociety, social 会议huì yìmeeting, conference 学会xué huìto learn (to master), to learn how to 聚会jù huìgathering, get-together, party

Used in

Stories

(9)

Grammar articles

(26)

Add to review queue

Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.

Go to my review queue

Mandarin · Free printables

会: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "会" (can, to know how to; will; meeting): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.

Free for members

The printable worksheets, infographics and PDFs are free with an account. Start a free week and download as many as you like.

Start your free week

This word is part of lesson 1.