The verb « voir » in « je te voyais pas pleurer de joie »

Question

1 : Je te voyais pas pleurer de joie, remarque.

= "It’s not like I’d expected you to cry with joy."

2 : Je le vois mal réussir sans notre aide.

= "I can’t picture/imagine him succeed without our help."

In these two sentences, the verb « voir » means "expect/imagine/picture" – in other words, "see something in your mind, not with your eyes".

My question is: How do you distinguish this specific use of « voir » from its more usual meaning "see something physically with your eyes"? I wonder if this « voir » usage isn't somewhat ambiguous?

I mean, won't the interlocutor misconstrue the two sentences as:

1 : "It’s not like I saw you crying with joy." {see with my eyes}

2 : "I don’t/won’t see him succeed without our help." {see with my eyes}

Answer 1

One simple answer : context.

This meaning could be ambiguous of course. If so, you should ask for clarification or provide/search for more context.

Answer 2

Same issue in English "I don’t see him succeed/succeeding without our help" is likely to imply expectation rather than sight with your eyes.