Comparing "hui," "neng," "keyi"

Level

B1 / HSK2
Level

B1
Level

HSK2
Similar to
- Expressing ability or possibility with "neng" (A1)
- Expressing permission with "keyi" (A1)
Similar to
- Expressing ability or possibility with "neng" (HSK1)
- Expressing permission with "keyi" (HSK2)
Used for

Describing actions, Requesting, Expressing possibility, Expressing ability, Expressing permission with "keyi"
Keywords

会, 可以, 能

This is one of the trickiest comparisons, as 会 (huì), 能 (néng), and 可以 (kěyǐ) are often translated as "can." Sometimes they are explained as: 会 means "know how to", 能 means "to be able to", and 可以 means "to have permission to." Actually, they overlap a little bit. In this article, we will look at their differences.

会 can mean "know how to"

会 can express an action that you had to learn or be trained in to do.

Structure

会 + Verb

Examples

他会修电脑。 He knows how to fix computers.
我会跳舞。 I know how to dance.
我学了两年才会说一点汉语。 I studied for two years before I knew how to speak a little Chinese.

会 can also mean something is going to happen

会 can express something in the future will happen. It is often used to express trends or possibilities.

Structure

会 + Verb

Examples

明天你会来吗？ Will you come tomorrow?
你太过分了，没有人会这么做。 You're too excessive, no one will do it like this.
一会儿会下雨吗？ Will it rain in a minute?

很会 means 'to be good at"

很会 expresses being very skillful at something, or doing something very well. It can be translated as "really can", as in "you can really speak Chinese!", in other words, "you are good at speaking Chinese."

Structure

很会 + Verb

Examples

这个女孩子很会唱歌。 This girl can really sing.
我的妈妈很会做饭。 My mother really knows how to cook.
他很会骗人。 He can really deceive people.

能 means "to be able to"

能 expresses having a certain ability or having obtained a certain requirement. It can also indicate that circumstances make an action not possible, or that an action is not allowed.

Structure

能 + Verb

Examples

你真的能吃三碗米饭吗？ Are you really able to eat three bowls of rice?
你能记住所有国家的名字吗？ Are you able to remember the names of all countries?
三个月的小孩子不能走路。 Three month old children are unable to walk.

可以 means "to have permission to"

可以 expresses having another person's permission. It can be thought of in the context of "allowed or not allowed".

Structure

可以 + Verb

Examples

我可以进来吗？ Am I allowed to enter?
你可以帮我一下吗？ Could you help me a bit?
不可以带危险物品上车。 You're not allowed to bring dangerous things in the car.

Examples of similar expressions, but with different meanings

我现在能跳舞了，我的脚伤好了。 I am able to dance now, my foot is better. (The condition changed)
我现在会跳舞了，我学了两个月。 I know how to dance now, I studied for two months. (It's a learned skill)
我现在可以跳舞了，我爸爸同意了。 I'm allowed to dance now, my dad agreed. (The dad gave permission)

我们学了半年中文，现在我会说一点中文。 We have learned half a year of Chinese, now I know how to speak a little bit of Chinese (The speaker now knows a new language skill)
我能说中文，因为我学了半年。 I can speak Chinese now, because I have learned for half a year. (The speaker now has a new ability)
我们已经说了两个小时英文，现在 可以 说中文吗？ We have already spoken two hours of English, can we speak Chinese now? (The speaker is asking for permission)

我会做中国菜。
你能吃辣的中国菜吗？
我们可以去吃中国菜吗？

Similarities

Now that we've gone over the ways that these words are different, it's time to tell you that they do share a few essential rules. The first common rule shared by these three is that none of them can be followed by an aspectual particle.

他会做饭。

He knows how to eat.

他会过做饭。

Secondly, 会, 能, and 可以 have to come before any prepositional phrases or descriptive adverbial modifiers in the sentence.

你可以把课本再看一次，看完以后再来考试。

You can read over the textbook again, when you're done come back to take the test.

你把课本可以再看一次，看完以后再来考试。
他们会努力地读一读。

They will seriously read it over.

他们努力地会读一读。

Example dialog

A: 我可以和他们一起踢足球吗？ Can I play soccer with them? (Am I allowed?)
B: 你的腿还没好，现在你不能踢。 Your foot still isn't better. You can't go right now. (His rule prohibits it)
A: 它会好吗？ Will it get better? (会 indicates the future)
B: 嗯，你放心吧，很快就会好的。 Yes, don't worry, it will get better soon.

For a good visualization on how these three overlap, check out the Chinese Modal Verb Venn Diagram.

Sources and further reading

Comparing "hui," "neng," "keyi"

Contents

会 can mean "know how to"

Structure

Examples

会 can also mean something is going to happen

Structure

Examples

很会 means 'to be good at"

Structure

Examples

能 means "to be able to"

Structure

Examples

可以 means "to have permission to"

Structure

Examples

Examples of similar expressions, but with different meanings

Similarities

Example dialog

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

Dictionaries

Websites