Difference between 可能 and 能

Question

I’ve always wonder what is the difference between the word 可能 and 能. I know it both means can, possible but is there any difference between them?

Answer 1

Literally 能 (néng) talks about capability, whereas 可能 (kěnéng) talks about possibility.

Often 能 is used where "capability" takes on a practical sense (not necessarily about being physically able to do something). Typically, 可能 is used when deciding if something is a suitable thing to do.

We do the same thing in English: I can swim (capability) vs. I can swim in Summer (possibility).

能 and 不能

我能游泳。
^{Wǒ néng yóuyǒng.}
I am capable of swimming.

This literally implies I am physically capable of swimming. It doesn't express whether or not I want to go swimming, if I'm allowed to go swimming, and if swimming is a suitable activity (although some of this will be clear from context).

A example where 能 describes a literal capability is:

罗根不是他的真名,并且还不能游泳。 (source)
^{Luōgēn bùshì tā de zhēnmíng, bìngqiě hái bùnéng yóuyǒng.}
Logan is not his real name, and he cannot swim.

An example where 能 describes a practical capability is:

戴隐形眼镜能游泳吗？ (source)
^{Dài yǐnxíng yǎnjìng néng yóuyǒng ma?}
[If someone] wears contact lenses, can they go swimming?

Of course, wearing contact lenses has no effect on one's ability to swim.

可能 and 不可能

你可能游泳。
^{Nǐ kěnéng yóuyǒng.}
You could possibly go swimming.

This indicates the possibility of going swimming; the person we're saying this to may or may not be able to swim. An actual example is:

你可能游泳或者骑自行车 (source)
^{Nǐ kěnéng yóuyǒng huòzhě qí zìxíngchē}
You could go swimming or ride a bike

Another example is:

春节期间的水温比较低，我觉得不可能游泳。 (source)
^{Chūnjié qíjiān de shuǐwēn bǐjiào dī, wǒ juédé bù kěnéng yóuyǒng}
During Spring Festival, the water temperature is comparatively low, I feel it is not possible to go swimming.

In this example, we could change 不可能游泳 to 不能游泳 to talk about a practical impossibility.

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Note: I'm a Chinese learner too. I tried to ensure this is correct, but please let me know if I've made a mistake I'm unaware of.

Answer 2

So you're right about 能. MDBG defines it as:

can / to be able to / might possibly / ability / (physics) energy

But, 可能 on the other hand has a different set of meanings: MDBG defines it as:

might (happen) / possible / probable / possibility / probability / maybe / perhaps / CL: 個｜个

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Simply put:

• 能 = able
• 可能 = maybe

Here's two examples using 去 (go):

你明天能去吗？ Are you able to go tomorrow?

他可能去也可能不去。 He might go and then again he might not.

Answer 3

I don't understand why no one pointed out the obvious issue with the picked answer's example phrase. It's just plain wrong.

你可能游泳。

Like the second answer pointed out, it's not a verb!

might (happen) / possible / probable / possibility / probability / maybe / perhaps

Nobody in China would say "You possibly swim".

And the picked answer's own translation uses "go"

You could possibly go swimming.

-> 你可能会去游泳。