Modal Verbs: 会 and 能

Chinese grammar · HSK 1 · 能愿动词 · By Carson 木林森

Both 会 and 能 translate as "can", but they differ in meaning.

会 huì can; to have the skill; to know how to 能 néng can 会与能 huì yǔ néng

会 = learned skill or acquired ability
- 我会说中文。(I can speak Chinese — because I learned it.)
- 她会开车。(She can drive — she knows how.)
- Also: 会 expresses future possibility: 他会来。(He will/might come.)

能 = situational ability — conditions currently allow it
- 我今天能来。(I can come today — circumstances permit.)
- 你能帮我吗？(Can you help me? — is it possible?)

Negation:
- 不会 = don't know how
- 不能 = unable to / not allowed to (right now)

Pattern: Subject + 会/能 + Verb (+ Object)

Worked examples

Chinese	Pinyin	English	What it shows
我会写中文字。	Wǒ huì xiě Zhōng wén zì.	I can write Chinese characters.	会: a learned skill acquired through study.
今天我不能去学校。	Jīn tiān wǒ bù néng qù xué xiào.	I can't go to school today.	能: situational — conditions today do not permit going.
他不会做饭。	Tā bù huì zuò fàn.	He doesn't know how to cook.	不会: negation of a learned skill.
你能帮我吗？	Nǐ néng bāng wǒ ma?	Can you help me?	能: asking if circumstances allow — not about learned skill.

Produce this pattern without stopping to think about it. GraphChinese drills Modal Verbs across 12 exercises and schedules the review that keeps it.

The same pattern at other levels

Modal Verbs — HSK 1
Modal Verbs — HSK 2
Modal Verbs — HSK 3

Modal Verbs is one topic of 829. GraphChinese teaches them in prerequisite order, so this pattern reaches you on the day everything it rests on is proven. The whole course, HSK 0 through HSK 6, is $49 once for lifetime access.

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