In this free lesson, I will show you how to express ability and possibility in Chinese. Such as how to say “I can”, “I’m capable of”, “I will”, “I want” in Chinese. We will use the words, 会, 能, and 可以. And I will also show you the difference between 能/会/可以.
会， 能，可以 can be used to express ability, But there are differences between 会 and 能. If to express ability based on learning and knowledge. Or skill that has been learned or studied in this case, it means “can”, “ know how to”
会[huì]
会 can be used to express ability and possibility.
Ability: 会[huì]
会 can be used to express ability which based on learning and knowledge. in this case 会 means ‘Can‘, ‘be able to‘
For example:
1.我会说中文 [wǒ huì shuō zhōng wén]: I can speak Chinese.
equals to (I know how to speak Chinese)
2.我会弹钢琴[wǒ huì tán gāng qín]: I can play the piano.
equals to (I know how to play the piano)
3.他会开车[tā huì kāi chē] : he can drive.
equals to (he knows how to drive)
As you can see those abilities are based on learning or knowledge.
Possibility: 会[huì]
Expressing possibility: 会 [ huì ], i means ‘be going to’, ‘will’
1.明天会下雨[ míng tiān huì xià yǔ ]:
Tomorrow is going to rain.
2.下个月我会去中国旅游[ xià gè yuè wǒ huì qù zhōng guó lǚ yóu ]:
I will travel to China next month.
3.你会来参加聚会吗？ [ nǐ huì lái cān jiā jù huì ma ]:
will you come to the party?
Negative: 不会[bú huì]
不 means ‘No’, ‘don’t’, ‘can’t’,’negative’. In Chinese will use this pattern 不+Verb to express negative.
1.明天不会下雨 [ míng tiān bú huì xià yǔ ]
Tomorrow is not going to rain.
2.下个月我不会去中国旅游[ xià gè yuè wǒ bú huì qù zhōng guó lǚ yóu ]
I will not travel to China next month.
3.我不会去参加聚会[wǒ bú huì qù cān jiā jù huì]
I will not travel to China next month.
4.我不会说中文 [wǒ bú huì shuō zhōng wén]
I can’t speak Chinese.
5.我不会写汉字[wǒ bú huì xiě hàn zì]
I can’t write Chinese characters.
6.我不会弹钢琴[wǒ bú huì tán gāng qín]
I can’t play the piano.
7.他不会开车[tā bú huì kāi chē]
he can’t drive.
能[néng]
能 is another way to express the ability. It means ‘can’ , ‘being able to’ in English. Usually, 能 used for expressing a natural ability, physically or mentally able to. The negative is 不能[bù néng].
Be careful of the tone 不能[bù néng], not [bú néng]. In Chinese Pinyin, if the phrase has the two same tone, we will change one. So that it’s easy to pronounce and be understand.
Physically or mentally able to
1.我能举起这个箱子 [wǒ néng jǔ qǐ zhè gè xiāng zǐ]
I can lift this box.
2.即使距离这么远，我还是能听到你的声音[jí shǐ jù lí zhè me yuǎn, wǒ hái shì néng tīng dào nǐ de shēng yīn]
I can still hear your voice even though it’s so far away
3.我能吃三碗米饭[wǒ néng chī sān wǎn mǐ fàn]
I can eat three bowls of rice
4.我能用中文跟你交流[wǒ néng yòng zhōng wén gēn nǐ jiāo liú]
I can communicate with you in Chinese
5.他能帮助你[tā néng bāng zhù nǐ]
he can help you
6.明天我有空，我能去[míng tiān wǒ yǒu kōng , wǒ néng qù]
I’m free tomorrow. I can go
7.我病好了，能走路了[wǒ bìng hǎo le, néng zǒu lù le]
I’m well and I can walk again
Differences between 能 and 会
As for the differences between 能 and 会, you will get confused quite often, even for Chinese speaker. Because in most cases, you can use either 能 or 会. As it has the same meanings sometimes. No matter you use which one it won’t affect what you mean.
However, they doesn’t have different meanings.
To express one’s subjective intention, we use 会
1.你放心, 明天我会准时来 (Don’t worry, I’ll come on time tomorrow).
(I want to come on time, that’s my will, but I can’t guarantee that, may be there’s a traffic jam, or you just overslept)
2. 我们会赢得比赛的(We’re going to win the game)
Actually,you can guarantee that! that’s your wish.
To express objective conditions, we use 能
1.你放心, 明天我能准时来 Don’t worry, I can come on time tomorrow.
(I will come on time under the conditions)
2.我们能赢得比赛的(We can win the game)
We will win the game under the conditions.
To express something can be used for, we use 能
这种车子能载重10顿 (This car can carry ten tons)
这种纸好，能写汉字(This kind of paper is good and can be used for writing Chinese characters)
To ask for permission, we use 能
中文好难学，你能教我学中文吗?(Chinese is very difficult to learn. Can you teach me Chinese)
工作完成了，我可以走了吗(The work is done. Can I go now?)
可以[kě yǐ]
可以 means ‘can’, ‘may’. It has the same usage as 能. Generally speaking, you can use either 能 or 可以 in most cases. It does the same meaning. Especially when asking for permission.
变色龙可以变成周围环境的颜色(The chameleon can take on the colours of its background)
变色龙能变成周围环境的颜色(The chameleon can take on the colours of its background)
我能吃糖吗？(Can I have candy?)
我可以吃糖吗？(Can I have candy?)
However, you can only use 可以 when to express suggestion. That’s the big difference between 能 and 可以.
他迟到了,我们可以先开会 (He’s late. We can start the meeting) √
他迟到了,我们能先开会 (He’s late. We can start the meeting) ×
由于疫情, 你们可以选择上网课 (Because of the pandemic, you can take online classes) √
由于疫情, 你们能选择上网课 (Because of the pandemic, you can take online classes) ×
wrap up:
when to express ‘can’, ‘may’, in Chinese we will use 会, 能, and 可以.
1.会 can be used for expressing possibility, but 可以 and 能 can’t used for possibility.
2. 会 and 能 used for expressing ability, for natural ability or mental ability we prefer to use 能.
3. 可以 and 能 have the same meanings and usage, However, you can only use 可以 when suggesting.
4. There is no difference between 能 and 可以 when asking for permission.
I hope this article will help you out of the confusion, due to there are many different usages of Chinese words. So if you have any questions about Chinese language, don’t hesitate to leave your comments below.
