< Mandarin Chinese Grammar for Pimsleur Students

Future tense

The future tense is generally indicated by the auxiliary verb 要 (yào). 会 (huì) can also be used in the same way. The difference in meaning is slight; 要 conveys more of a "plan to" or "going to" meaning, while 会 means a default "will," indicating that the speaker is rather confident that the following action will happen, at least when compared to 要.


要yàowill, want
我们要坐飞机去 ◦wŏmen yào zuò fēijī qù.We will travel by airplane.
我要现在吃午饭 ◦wŏ yào xiàn zài chī wŭfàn.I am going to have lunch now.
要几个小时 ?yào jĭ ge xiăoshí?How many hours is it going to be?
我会迟到。 wŏ huì chí dào. I will be late.
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