會 — will, is going to, would (probably). Set before the verb to forecast the outcome, not the speaker's plan.

TSUMUGU · TBCL 2 (est.) · 語法

會 grammar point · tier 1 · 會 — likelihood / will (be likely to, probably will)

· huì

Predicts that an event is likely to come about — will, is going to, would (probably). Set before the verb to forecast the outcome, not the speaker's plan.

字源 FORM what the parts do

會 sets a lid (亼) down on a layered steamer (曾, written short): parts that fit together, the sense to join. Before a verb it forecasts the fit, the conditions falling into place for the thing to happen.

故事 STORY a scene to remember it by

The future is a stack of layers; the lid comes down and seats, and the thing arrives. When the lid will not seat, it stays away.

字源記憶法

框 · Frame

[subj] 會 [verb phrase]

觸 · Trigger

You want to forecast whether something is likely to happen, not state your own plan to do it.

序 · The move

1name the event you are forecastingis this a prediction about how things turn out, not a skill you have learned?

2set 會 directly before the verb phrasedoes 會 forecast the outcome rather than announce your intention (要)?

3negate with 不會, never 沒會is the negation 不會 (won't / unlikely to)?

例 · Examples

1你今年會be likely to / will (forecasts the outcome)出國go abroad嗎turns it into a yes-no question？

Are you likely to go abroad this year?

界 · Boundary

會2

Same character, two jobs. 會1 forecasts an event lining up (明天會下雨, it is likely to rain). 會2 reports a learned skill (我會游泳, I can swim). 會1 faces the world's odds; 會2 faces what you have mastered.

要

會 forecasts the world (他會來, he is likely to come). 要 announces a will or plan (他要來, he intends to come). 會 reads the odds; 要 states the intention.

negating with 沒: 我沒會去 → 我不會去 (unlikely / won't)

forecasting a plan instead of odds: 我會去（meaning I plan to）→ 我要去 (intention)

dropping 會 in the prediction: 明天下雨 → 明天會下雨 (it is likely to rain)

English 'will' fuses prediction and intention, so learners reach for 會 where a plan calls for 要, and for 要 where a forecast calls for 會.

族 · Family

會…的Wraps a forecast and closes it as a settled certainty: it surely will.會Auxiliary before a verb: have the learned skill to do it, picked up by training or practice.