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会/能/可以

huì / néng / kěyǐ

Three locks on the same door marked can

The picture One door labelled I can, with three locks on it. 会 opens with what you have learned, 能 with what your body and your day allow, 可以 only when someone else turns the key.

Easily confused pairs

Where the picture shows up in 会/能/可以

  1. the lock learning opens

    开车,可是今天喝酒了。

    wǒ huì kāichē, kěshì jīntiān hē jiǔ le

    I do know how to drive, but I've been drinking today.

  2. the lock circumstances jam

    今天我不加班,得去接孩子。

    jīntiān wǒ bù néng jiābān, děi qù jiē háizi

    I can't stay late today — I have to pick up my kid.

    Use 不能 when the situation blocks you, not your skill.

  3. the key someone else holds

    请问这儿可以抽烟吗?

    qǐngwèn zhèr kěyǐ chōuyān ma

    Excuse me, is smoking allowed here?

  4. how much your body can put out

    他一天走两万步。

    tā yì tiān néng zǒu liǎng wàn bù

    He can walk twenty thousand steps a day.

  5. the way things already go

    天气预报说明天下雨。

    tiānqì yùbào shuō míngtiān huì xià yǔ

    The forecast says it'll rain tomorrow.

    会 is what has been learned into something, so it also covers what the world reliably does — that is, will.

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