Chinese word

能

Pronunciation

Pinyinnéng

Meaning

  • auxiliary verbcan

Example

你能参加明天的会议吗？nǐ néng cān jiā míng tiān de huì yì ma

Can you attend tomorrow's meeting?

Illustration for 能 (can)

More examples

我能吃一点。wǒ néng chī yì diǎn

I can eat a little.

Core concept

A person has the power or a situation has the right conditions for an action to go forward.

Common phrases

  • 能吃néng chī

    can eat

  • 能说néng shuō

    can speak

  • 能看néng kàn

    can see

Similar words

会huì: Shows that someone can do something because of a learned skill or ability.
可以ké yǐ: Shows that an action is allowed or possible under the given conditions.
想xiǎng: Shows that someone wants to do something.
要yào: Shows that someone intends or plans to do something later.

Definition in Chinese

用作助动词，表示主语有能力、条件或许可去做某事，也用于询问或否定事情能否发生或完成。yòng zuò zhù dòng cí biǎo shì zhú yǔ yǒu néng lì tiáo jiàn huò xǔ kě qù zuò mǒu shì yě yòng yú xún wèn huò fǒu dìng shì qíng néng fǒu fā shēng huò wán chéng

Word origin

The ancient character 能 (néng, "can") showed a bear, but its written use later came to express the power and ability to do something.

Usage tips

  • In a question, 能 (néng, "can") often checks whether an event can happen under the present conditions, so the answer may depend on more than a person's skill.

Opposites

Word lists with this word