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DigMandarin Grammar Lesson Hui and Neng

The document discusses the difference between the Chinese words 会 (huì) and 能 (nénɡ). 会 means "to know how to" and denotes having learned a skill, while 能 means "be able to" and expresses a physical ability. Some examples are provided to illustrate the distinction, such as "He knows how to speak English but cannot speak it during his Chinese class." The document concludes with an exercise asking the reader to fill in blanks with 会 or 能 based on whether the sentence implies a learned skill or physical ability.

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Tatjana Kuburic
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297 views

DigMandarin Grammar Lesson Hui and Neng

The document discusses the difference between the Chinese words 会 (huì) and 能 (nénɡ). 会 means "to know how to" and denotes having learned a skill, while 能 means "be able to" and expresses a physical ability. Some examples are provided to illustrate the distinction, such as "He knows how to speak English but cannot speak it during his Chinese class." The document concludes with an exercise asking the reader to fill in blanks with 会 or 能 based on whether the sentence implies a learned skill or physical ability.

Uploaded by

Tatjana Kuburic
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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www.digmandarin.

com

会 (huì) VS 能 (nénɡ)

会 means ‘to know how to’, and 能 means ‘be able to’.

会 (huì) denotes the knowledge of how to do something as in

⚫ 他会说阿拉伯语。 (Tā huì shuō ālābó yǔ。/ He can speak Arabic)

or

⚫ 你不会唱歌 (Nǐ bú huì chànɡɡē./ You can’t sing).

能 (nénɡ) expresses having the ability to do something.

⚫ 他能跑得很快。 (Tā nénɡ pǎo de hěn kuài. / He can run very fast).

能 can also be used to ask for permission.

⚫ 我能不能借你的笔？(Wǒ nénɡ bu nénɡ jiè nǐ de bǐ? / Can I borrow your

pen?).

Although similar, the main difference between 能 and 会 is that 能

indicates a physical ability to do something whereas 会 implies having

had to learn something in order to be able to do something. For

instance:

⚫ 他会说英语，但是上中文课时他不能说英语 。(Tā huì shuō yīngyǔ, dànshì

shàng zhōngwén kèshí tā bùnéng shuō yīngyǔ./ He knows how to


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speak English, but he can't speak English when he having the Chinese

class.)

He knows how to speak English, but maybe he is not allowed to speak

English when having a Chinese class, so he can’t speak English.

Let`s review with the following exercises!

Please fill in the blanks with 能 or 会.

1. Can I ask you a question?

我_____问你一个问题吗？

(Wǒ ____ wèn nǐ yí ɡè wèntí mɑ？)

2. You can’t swim here.

你们不_____在这儿游泳。

(Nǐmen bù_____zài zhè'er yóuyǒng.)

3. He had a sore throat, so he can’t talk today.

他嗓子疼，今天不_____说话。

(Tā sǎnɡzi ténɡ, jīntiān bù _____ shuōhuà.)


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4. Do you know how to play piano?

你_____弹钢琴吗？

(Nǐ_____tán gāngqín ma?)

5. I know you know how to play piano. Can you teach me?

我知道你_____弹钢琴。你____教我吗？

(Wǒ zhīdào nǐ_____dàn gāngqín. Nǐ____jiào wǒ ma?)

6. The teacher has told him five times and now he finally knows how to

answer this question.

老师教了他五遍，他终于_____回答这个问题了。

(Lǎoshī jiāo le tā wǔ biàn， tā zhōngyú_____huídá zhège wèntíle..)

7. Can you help me?

你____帮帮我吗？

(Nǐ____bāng bāng wǒ ma?)


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Key

1. 我能问你一个问题吗？

2. 你们不能在这儿游泳。

3. 他嗓子疼，今天不能说话。

4. 你会弹钢琴吗？

5. 我知道你会弹钢琴。你能教我吗？

6. 老师教了他五遍，他终于会回答这个问题了。

7. 你能帮帮我吗？

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