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According to every dictionary I've seen so far, there is a big overlap in these:

  • 可以　= can, may, be able to
  • 会　　= can, be able to, able
  • 能　　= can, may, able, capable

How do I properly choose which one to use when I have a sentence with can / may / able? What are the differences in primary use of these characters?

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8 Answers 8

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  • 可以 means I can do it, but may I? For example :

    我 可以 开车吗？

    May I drive? (Have the implication of I want to drive)

    我 可以 开车。

    I can drive (have the implication of I can, but I don't want to (unwilling to do so))

  • 会 means I am able to, or I know how to do it For example :

    你 会 开车吗？

    Can you drive? (Are you able to drive? Do you know how to drive? Or even Do you have a drivers license?)

    我 会 开车。

    I can drive (I know how to drive)

  • 能 is similar to can, in most cases they are interchangeable. It means capable of doing something or Would you...? For example :

    你 能 开车吗？

    Would you drive? (Would you mind driving?)

Other Meanings

  • Apart from the meaning of willingness, 可以 can also mean good/not bad. For example :

    你的中文还 可以 。

    Your Chinese is not bad.

  • 能 can also mean power / energy For example 能量.

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  • 1
    If I got it right, 会 stands on its own meaning "having the ability/knowledge to do something", while 能 and 可以 are interchangeable in meaning "willingness" or "having permission" to do something?
    – dr Hannibal Lecter
    Commented Dec 15, 2011 at 20:39
  • Yep, that's correct.
    – StarCub
    Commented Dec 15, 2011 at 21:19
  • 2
    You said that 能 and 可以 are mostly interchangeable, is there a rule on when they are not?
    – dr Hannibal Lecter
    Commented Dec 15, 2011 at 21:27
  • 1
    When I said mostly I was thinking maybe there were some cases that I didn't think of. They are interchangeable in all the cases that I can think of. :) I've updated the answer to include other meanings for 可以 and 能.
    – StarCub
    Commented Dec 15, 2011 at 21:45
  • Great, this is more than good enough for me, you win one green checkmark! :)
    – dr Hannibal Lecter
    Commented Dec 15, 2011 at 21:52
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可以 refers to PERMISSION or "social capacity." Am I allowed (permitted) to do such and such? Or at least can I "get away" with it?

会 refers to "know how." Do I know HOW to do such and such.

能 refers to physical capacity: size, strength, dexterity. I may 会 (know how) to move a large piece of furniture or change a tire (having done so before), but no longer 能, have the capacity, because I've grown old, weak, clumsy, etc.

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  • I agree with this ans. 能 is very much in reference to physical capacity.
    – tbaums
    Commented Dec 16, 2011 at 0:00
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    +1 for providing counter-examples. (That is, an example of where one could mean 会 but definitely not 能.) I think that where usage questions are concerned, any full answer needs to contain at least one counter-example.
    – Jesse Madnick
    Commented Dec 29, 2011 at 8:42
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The differences are well explained on the Chinese Grammar Wiki. It also visualises the overlaps with the following Venn diagram: hui vs neng vs keyi

A: ability in the sense of “know how to” (会 (huì) is more common than 能 (néng))

B: permission/request (use 能 (néng) or 可以 (kěyǐ))

C: possibility (use 能 (néng) or 可以 (kěyǐ))

D: permission not granted (use 不可以 (bù kěyǐ))

E: impossibility (use 不能 (bù néng))

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The problems with these are because "can" or be able to" does not make these distinctions in English:

可以 = Involves social permission and the question of whether something is "permitted" (or not) based on the way social relations are ordered.

会 = Involves an ability (or not) that you acquired through direct experience or instruction. You are able to do certain things because of the knowledge you have acquired. We use this word with swimming because we believe that swimming is not a skill that we are born with but rather must be acquired.

能 = Involves an ability that you have because your base physical constitution alone permits it. Machines or tools may extend a native ability as in night goggles that permit you to see at night.

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会VS能VS可以

1.“会”means can, and always means to learn a skill,and then can do it.

1) 我以前不会游泳，跟老师学习一个月以后，现在我会游泳了。 I can not swim before, after I study with a teacher for one month, I can swim now.

2) 我不会开车。 I don’t know how to drive. You know in China, citizens can only get the drive license after they are 18 years old.

  1. “能”means be able to. 1) 我喝酒了，所以不能开车。 I drink, so I can’t drive a car.

2) 我生病了，今天不能上班。 I’m sick today, so I can’t go to work.

  1. “可以”emphasize permission. After knocking on the door, and then you can say A：我可以进来吗？May I come in? B: 可以。/不可以。Yes,you can./No, you cannot.

But this reply is not polite. Chinese always answer “不好意思，请稍等”.That means “ Sorry, wait a moment please.”

You also can check this video:How to differentiate "会", "能" and "可以"？It can answer your question. http://www.hanbridgemandarin.com/course/demo/hui-neng-keyi

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Neng primarily means that ALL the current circumstances (whether it be one's skill or the current general state of things) make it possible for you to carry out a certain action (I can lend you that pencil).

Ke Yi has the sense of being ALLOWED/PERMITTED (or asked) to do something. (I can take the book -> I am permitted to take the book).

If you want to say, I have the acquired ability to do something, as in an acquired ability such as speaking Chinese, you should definitely use 会 hui4. (I can speak Chinese).

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可以 means may or can, it is usually used to ask for or to give permit to do something.

能 means may, can or be able to, it is used more to show an ability to do something as well as to ask for or to give permit to do something.

会 means can or will, it is used to show an ability to do something. Be careful here, 会 also means will or would, it is a future tense indicator in this case

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I will drive (I will learn it). 我会开车

I'm trained in drive. 我会开车

I can drive / I'm able to drive. 我能开车、我可以开车

I'm allowed / licensed to drive. 我可以开车

I will drive (today). 我会开车

You asked me to drive, and I say "OK!". "OK!"=“可以！”

Reverse

I won't drive (maybe I'm tired today). 我不会开车

I'm not allowed to drive (drunk or license revoked). 我不可以开车。

I can't drive / I'm unable to drive (I have no vehicle) 我不能、我不可以开车。

I'm not trained in drive. 我不会开车

I won't drive! (Never!) 我不会开车！

Only the "会" is special which means either "I have the ability" or "I wish".

"可以" is a bit special which means "got allowed" or agreed from community.

Like in English, "can" and "able" may include "got allowed", implicitly include "trained".

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