Chinese · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "会" in Chinese?

Q: How do you pronounce 会 in Chinese?

会 is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /xweɪ˥˩/. It means “can (know how to); will.” hway, dropping hard. Identical to 回 in its sounds, and separated from it only by the direction of the pitch.

hway, dropping hard. Identical to 回 in its sounds, and separated from it only by the direction of the pitch.

会 /xweɪ˥˩/

huì

Fixed in itself, and a very frequent trigger: 不会 becomes bú huì, one of the most common negative phrases in the language. The contrast with 回 huí is the more useful fact though — two extremely common verbs, identical segments, opposite pitch directions, and nothing else to tell them apart.

Listen: 会

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Sound it out

h- Real friction at the soft palate. Since a rounded glide follows immediately, a weak English "h" would vanish entirely — put some rasp in it.

-ui Rounded glide, short "eh", close at "ee". Written -uei in full, and the middle vowel is what distinguishes it from a plain "wee".

huì (falling) The voice drops from high to low across the glide, decisively. Compare 回 huí, where the identical mouth movements carry an upward pitch instead.

Hear it in a sentence

我会做饭。

Wǒ huì zuò fàn.

I can cook.

Listen: 我会做饭。

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我会做饭。 keeps wǒ at a full dip since huì falls, then delivers three consecutive falling tones: huì, zuò and fàn. That triple descent is where English rhythm interferes most, wanting to run them together into one long slide. Each must restart near the top, so the sentence should sound like three separate steps down.

Where English speakers slip

The h drops out before the rounded glide for most learners, leaving "way", which is neither this word nor 回. Add friction. The tone is the second and more consequential issue: an upward or level delivery turns "can" into "to return", and both verbs fit comfortably in the same sentence positions, so the ambiguity is real rather than theoretical.