会 meaning in English
can; to have the skill; to know how to; to be likely to; to be sure to
Meaning of 会
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- can; to have the skill; to know how to
- to be likely to; to be sure to
- to meet; to get together
- meeting; gathering
- (suffix) union; group; association
- (bound form) a moment (Taiwan pr. [hui3])
- (bound form) to reckon accounts
How to use 会
As a verb, 会 (huì) means a learned skill, like speaking a language or swimming. It also expresses likelihood about the future. It works as a noun for meetings and events in words like 开会 (kāihuì) and 晚会 (wǎnhuì). Example: 我会说中文。(Wǒ huì shuō Zhōngwén.) I can speak Chinese.
The top of 会 looks like a roof, like 人 (rén, person) spread wide, and below it is 云 (yún, cloud). Picture people gathering under one roof, which is a meeting, and people who meet and learn together come to know how to do things.
Common mistake: Learners often use 会 for every kind of "can." Use 能 (néng) for ability or permission in a situation, as in 我今天不能来 (I can't come today). Use 可以 (kěyǐ) for permission. Keep 会 for learned skills and future likelihood.
会 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
会 huì · can · 6 strokes
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- 6
Related words
Words that share a character with 会.
| 一会儿 | yīhuìr | a moment; a while |
| 开会 | kāihuì | to hold or attend a meeting |
| 机会 | jīhuì | opportunity; chance |
| 晚会 | wǎnhuì | evening party |
| 音乐会 | yīnyuèhuì | concert |
| 那会儿 | nàhuìr | at that time (in the past or the future); also pr. [nei4 hui4 r5] |
| 不一会儿 | bù yīhuìr | |
| 社会 | shèhuì | society |
| 会议 | huìyì | meeting; conference |
| 体会 | tǐhuì | to know from experience; to learn through experience |
| 演唱会 | yǎnchànghuì | vocal recital or concert |
| 会员 | huìyuán | member |
Questions about 会
What does 会 mean?
会 (huì) means "can; to have the skill; to know how to; to be likely to; to be sure to" and is used as a verb and noun.
How do you write 会?
会 is made of 1 character: 会 (6 strokes). That is 6 strokes in total.
Is 会 an HSK word?
Yes. 会 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 会 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 会 is written 會.
How do I use 会 to talk about the future?
Put 会 before a verb to say something is likely or will happen. Example: 明天会下雨。(Míngtiān huì xià yǔ.) It will probably rain tomorrow. It often appears with 的 at the end for extra certainty, as in 他会来的 (He will definitely come).
When is 会 pronounced kuài?
It is read kuài only in a few words about accounting. The most common is 会计 (kuàijì), meaning accountant or accounting. In almost all other words it is huì.