會 wui2

Double meanings of 會 wui5

Be careful, sometimes 會 wui5 will cause confusion because of its double meaning. 會 wui5 also has the meaning of “to be able to” other than “to intend to.”

To be able to

This sentence means “I am able to swim,” instead of “I will swim.”

我 會 游水 ngo5 wui5 heoi3 jau4 seoi2

Future tense or “to intend to”

To express “I will swim,” you will need to say “I will go swim”

我 會去 游水 ngo5 wui5 heoi3 jau4 seoi2

In this case, it will specify the meaning of 會 wui5 is to “to intend to” instead of “to be able to.”

Immediately

To eliminate the confusion, you should use the word 將會 zoeng1 wui5 to emphasize the futuristic action rather than the ability.

I immediately will write a letter
ngo5 zoeng3 wui5 se2 jat1 fung1 seon3
我將會寫一封信

Try it yourself

Translate the following sentences:

1. I am able to speak Cantonese
2. I am going to speak Cantonese