Difference between revisions of "Comparing "hui," "neng," "keyi""

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{{Grammar Box}}
 
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This is one of the trickiest comparisons, as 会, 能, and 可以 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.  
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This is one of the trickiest comparisons, as 会, 能, and 可以 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.
 
 
这三个词相互交叉,具体图示可以参考sinosplice,我们这里只讲明三者的不同,其他情况要看具体的语境和语气判断句子的意思。
 
  
 
== 会 can mean "know how to" ==
 
== 会 can mean "know how to" ==
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== Sources and further reading ==
 
== Sources and further reading ==
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For a good visualiztion on how these three overlap, check out the [http://www.sinosplice.com/life/archives/2009/10/13/chinese-modal-verb-venn-diagram| Chinese Modal Verb Venn Diagram].
  
 
=== Books ===
 
=== Books ===

Revision as of 03:10, 15 March 2013

This is one of the trickiest comparisons, as 会, 能, and 可以 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

  • 修 电脑。
  • 跳舞。
  • 我 学 了 两 年 才 说 一点 汉语。

会 can also mean something is gonna 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 来 吗?
  • 你 太 过分 了,没 有 人 这么 做。
  • 一会儿 下雨 吗?

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 唱歌。
  • 我 的 妈妈 做 饭。
  • 骗 人。

能 means "to be able to"

能 expresses having a certain ability or having obtained a certain requirement.


Structure

能 + Verb

Examples

  • 吃 三 碗 米饭 吗?
  • 记 住 所有 国家 的 名字 吗?
  • 三 个 月 的 小 孩子 不 走路。

可以 means "to have permission to"

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

Structure

可以 + Verb

Examples

  • 可以 进来 吗?
  • 可以 帮 我 一下 吗?
  • 可以 带 危险 物品 上车。

Examples of similar expressions, but with different meanings

  • 我 现在 跳舞 了,我 的 脚 伤 好 了。
  • 我 现在 跳舞 了,我 学 了 两 个 月。
  • 我 现在 可以 跳舞 了,我 爸爸 同意 了。

Example dialog

  • A: 我 可以 和 他们 一起 踢 足球 吗?
  • B: 你 的 腿 还 没 好,现在 你 不 踢。
  • A: 它 好 吗?
  • B: 很 快 就 好 的。

See also

Sources and further reading

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

Books

Dictionaries

Websites