会 / 能 / 可以 Mixups (all 'can') | Chinese (Mandarin) Grammar

English says "I can" for three different ideas — "I know how to swim," "I can't come today," "you can smoke here" — and never notices they are different. Chinese notices, and splits them across three modals that are not interchangeable. 会 (huì) is a learned skill — something you studied into your head. 能 (néng) is capacity or circumstantial possibility — your body or the situation makes it doable right now. 可以 (kěyǐ) is permission — someone allows it. Pour all three into one habit-word like English "can" and you get sentences that are grammatical but subtly wrong: 我能说中文 for a skill, 我会去 when you mean "may I." The fix is to stop translating "can" and instead ask which kind of can you mean. The full contrast lives at choosing 会 / 能 / 可以.

会 — a skill you learned

Use 会 for abilities that come from learning or practice: languages, swimming, cooking, driving. If you could put it on a résumé, it's 会.

我会说中文，但是写得不好。

wǒ huì shuō zhōngwén, dànshì xiě de bù hǎo

I can speak Chinese, but I don't write it well. (informal) — a learned skill, so 会.

❌ 我能说中文。

Off for a learned skill — this reads as 'I'm able to speak Chinese (right now, circumstantially)'; for the skill itself use 会: 我会说中文。

你会做饭吗？我一点儿都不会。

nǐ huì zuò fàn ma? wǒ yìdiǎnr dōu bú huì

Can you cook? I can't at all. (informal) — 会/不会 for the acquired skill of cooking.

💡

Feel the three as three different sources of "can": 会 = knowledge in your head (you learned it), 能 = the situation allows it (you're free, healthy, capable of the amount), 可以 = a person allows it (permission). Naming the source picks the modal for you. More at 会 for learned ability.

能 — capacity or the circumstances allow it

Use 能 when the skill isn't the issue — the situation is. You're free (or not), well (or not), physically up to some amount. 能 is also how you ask whether something is possible in the here and now.

我今天不能来，孩子病了。

wǒ jīntiān bù néng lái, háizi bìng le

I can't come today, my kid's sick. (informal) — nothing about skill; the circumstances block it, so 能.

我很饿，能吃三碗米饭。

wǒ hěn è, néng chī sān wǎn mǐfàn

I'm so hungry I could eat three bowls of rice. (informal) — physical capacity → 能.

The cleanest illustration is a skill you have but can't use right now: the skill is 会, the blockage is 能.

我会开车，可是今天喝酒了，不能开。

wǒ huì kāichē, kěshì jīntiān hē jiǔ le, bù néng kāi

I can drive, but I've been drinking today, so I can't. (informal) — 会 (I know how) vs 能 (circumstances forbid it).

可以 — permission

Use 可以 to ask for or grant permission — the "may" of English. The question is not whether you're able, but whether it's allowed.

请问，这里可以抽烟吗？

qǐngwèn, zhèlǐ kěyǐ chōuyān ma?

Excuse me, is smoking allowed here? (neutral) — asking permission → 可以.

可以借我一支笔吗？

kěyǐ jiè wǒ yì zhī bǐ ma?

Can I borrow a pen? (informal) — a request for permission, so 可以.

Beware that 会 also means "will / be likely to" — so 我会去 is not "I'm allowed to go," it's "I will go." For "may I go?" you need 可以 or 能, never 会.

❌ 我会去洗手间吗？

Wrong for asking permission — 会 here would mean 'will I go?'; ask 我可以去洗手间吗?

我可以去一下洗手间吗？

wǒ kěyǐ qù yíxià xǐshǒujiān ma?

May I go to the restroom for a moment? (neutral) — permission → 可以.

The overlap zone

The three do overlap at the edges. For permission, both 能 and 可以 work — 这儿能停车吗？ and 这儿可以停车吗？ both ask "can one park here?" (可以 is the more neutral "may"; 能 leans "is it possible"). And in a real prohibition, 不可以 is the firm "not allowed," stronger than 不能.

这儿能停车吗？——不行，这里不可以停车。

zhèr néng tíngchē ma? —— bùxíng, zhèlǐ bù kěyǐ tíngchē

'Can I park here?' 'No — parking isn't allowed here.' (neutral) — 能 asks, 不可以 firmly forbids.

Modal	Negative	Means
会	不会	don't know how (lack the skill)
能	不能	not able (blocked) / not allowed
可以	不可以	not permitted (firm prohibition)

Common Mistakes

1. 能 for a learned skill. Skills you studied are 会.

❌ 你能弹钢琴吗？

Off if you mean 'do you play piano (as a skill)?' — that's 会: 你会弹钢琴吗?

✅ 你会弹钢琴吗？

nǐ huì tán gāngqín ma?

Can you play the piano? (neutral) — the skill of playing → 会.

2. 会 for a here-and-now blockage. When circumstances stop you, use 能.

✅ 我明天有事，不能参加。

wǒ míngtiān yǒu shì, bù néng cānjiā

I've got something on tomorrow, so I can't attend. (neutral) — circumstance blocks it → 不能, not 不会.

3. 会 to ask permission. 会 means "will," not "may."

✅ 老师，我可以问一个问题吗？

lǎoshī, wǒ kěyǐ wèn yí ge wèntí ma?

Teacher, may I ask a question? (neutral) — permission → 可以.

4. 不会 when you mean "not allowed." Lacking permission is 不能 / 不可以.

✅ 考试的时候不能看手机。

kǎoshì de shíhou bù néng kàn shǒujī

You can't look at your phone during the exam. (neutral) — a rule forbids it → 不能, not 不会.

Key Takeaways

会 = a learned skill (我会说中文, 我会游泳); its negative 不会 means "don't know how."
能 = capacity or circumstances allowing it (我今天不能来, 我能吃三碗); its negative 不能 means "unable / not allowed."
可以 = permission (这里可以抽烟吗); 不可以 is a firm "not allowed."
The killer test: a skill you have but can't use now is 会 (skill) + 不能 (blocked) — 我会开车，但不能开.
会 also means "will / likely," so 我会去 = "I will go," never "may I go" — use 可以/能 for permission.

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