会, 能, 可以: The Three Ways to Say “Can” in Chinese

Grammar · HSK 1–2 · 11 min read · Published September 22, 2026 · Updated November 3, 2026

English has one can; Chinese has three. 会 huì = you know how (a skill you learned). 能 néng = you are able right now (body or circumstances allow it). 可以 kěyǐ = you are allowed (permission, an acceptable option). One sentence holds all three: 我会游泳，但是今天不能游，这里也不可以游。 I can swim, but I can't today, and you're not allowed to here anyway.

Practise this pattern in real sentences. Hanzijo explains 500+ grammar points from HSK 1 to 9 with example sentences and the mistakes learners usually make. Download Hanzijo free on the App Store

Level: HSK 1–2. All three words are core beginner vocabulary. Every example has characters, pinyin with tone marks and a natural English translation, so you can read the page even if you know only a few hundred characters.

Almost every beginner goes through the same week. You learn 会 means can, you say 我今天不会来 to cancel a dinner, and your friend looks confused — because you have just told them you don't know how to come, or that you certainly won't. Nothing was wrong with your tones or your word order. You picked the wrong can.

The fix is not to memorise example sentences. It is to see that Chinese is asking a more precise question than English does. When English says can, Chinese wants to know why you can.

Three kinds of “can”

Did you learn it?

会

huì

Know how. A skill that exists in you because you learned it — languages, swimming, driving, cooking.

Is it possible now?

能

néng

Able to. Your body, your schedule or the situation allows it — or doesn't.

Is it allowed?

可以

kěyǐ

Permitted. A rule, a person or common sense says it is OK — or an option is acceptable.

我会游泳，但是今天不能游 — 我感冒了。而且这里也不可以游。

wǒ huì yóuyǒng, dànshì jīntiān bù néng yóu — wǒ gǎnmào le. érqiě zhèlǐ yě bù kěyǐ yóu.

I can swim, but I can't today — I've got a cold. And you're not allowed to swim here anyway.

Read that sentence slowly, because it is the whole article. The skill is there (会). Today's conditions block it (不能). And a rule forbids it (不可以). English uses can three times; Chinese uses three different words because it is making three different claims.

会huìLearned skill

Use 会 for anything you had to learn. If there was a time you couldn't do it and practice changed that, it is 会.

我会说一点儿中文。

wǒ huì shuō yìdiǎnr Zhōngwén

I can speak a little Chinese.

你会开车吗？

nǐ huì kāichē ma

Can you drive? (Do you know how?)

我不会做饭。

wǒ bú huì zuò fàn

I can't cook. (I never learned.)

很会 = good at. Put 很 in front and 会 stops meaning can and starts meaning really knows how to: 他很会做饭 tā hěn huì zuò fàn — he's a really good cook. 她很会说话 — she's a smooth talker, she always knows what to say.

How much you can do is 能, not 会. On its own, 会 says only that you have the skill. To say how far, how fast or how much you can do with it, use 能. 我会游泳 wǒ huì yóuyǒng means I know how to swim (a skill). 我能游一公里 wǒ néng yóu yì gōnglǐ means I am able to swim one kilometre (how much I can do). The capacity example in the next card, 他一顿能吃三碗饭, works the same way.

能néngAble right now

Use 能 when the question is whether the situation allows it — time, health, money, distance, capacity. The skill may exist; 能 is about whether it can happen.

我今天不能来，我要加班。

wǒ jīntiān bù néng lái, wǒ yào jiābān

I can't come today — I have to work late.

你能吃辣吗？

nǐ néng chī là ma

Can you handle spicy food?

他一顿能吃三碗饭。

tā yí dùn néng chī sān wǎn fàn

He can eat three bowls of rice in one meal. (capacity)

医生说我明天能出院了。

yīshēng shuō wǒ míngtiān néng chūyuàn le

The doctor says I can leave hospital tomorrow.

Recovered ability is 能, not 会. A baby learning to walk: 会走路了 (the skill appeared). A patient walking again after an injury: 能走路了 (the skill was always there; the body now allows it). Same verb, same 了 — the modal tells the story.

可以kěyǐAllowed / OK

Use 可以 for permission, and for saying an option is acceptable or a good idea.

这里可以拍照吗？

zhèlǐ kěyǐ pāizhào ma

Can I take photos here?

你可以坐地铁去，很方便。

nǐ kěyǐ zuò dìtiě qù, hěn fāngbiàn

You can take the metro there — it's convenient. (a suggestion)

— 这家菜怎么样？ — 还可以。

zhè jiā cài zěnmeyàng? — hái kěyǐ

How's the food here? — Not bad. / It's OK.

还可以 is a lukewarm verdict. It means acceptable, so-so — less warm than 不错 (pretty good) and much less than 很好吃 (delicious). If a friend cooked for you, 还可以 is not the compliment you think it is.

The three-question test

When you need can, ask these in order and stop at the first yes:

Ask	If yes	Example
1. Is this about permission or whether it's OK?	可以	我可以坐这儿吗？ kěyǐ — may I sit here?
2. Is it a skill someone had to learn?	会	你会游泳吗？ huì — can you swim?
3. Otherwise: do body, time or conditions allow it?	能	你明天能来吗？ néng — can you come tomorrow?

Where the test leaves you torn between 能 and 可以, relax: that is the one real overlap in the system (next section), and either is usually understood.

Where they overlap: asking for permission

Both 能 and 可以 can ask permission, much like English can I and may I:

可以 — neutral, standard

我可以进来吗？wǒ kěyǐ jìnlái ma
May I come in?

能 — softer, “could I”

我能用一下你的笔吗？wǒ néng yòng yíxià nǐ de bǐ ma
Could I borrow your pen for a sec?

Notice the 一下 in the second sentence — it shrinks the request to just for a moment and makes it much more polite. That softener is explained in 一点儿 vs 有点儿.

Asking with 会不会, 能不能 and 可不可以

Every yes-or-no question so far on this page ends in 吗. Each of them can also be asked in the A-not-A form: the modal, then 不, then the modal again. The two forms ask the same thing and take the same answers. Because the A-not-A form is already a question, it never takes 吗 as well: 你会不会开车吗？ is wrong.

In this pattern 不 is said lightly, in the neutral tone, so it is written bu without a tone mark. With two-syllable 可以, speakers usually say only the first syllable before 不, giving 可不可以. The full 可以不可以 is also correct but less common.

Question	Short answers
你会不会开车？ nǐ huì bu huì kāichē Can you drive? With 吗: 你会开车吗？ nǐ huì kāichē ma	会。 huì (Yes, I can.) 不会。 bú huì (No, I can't.)
你明天能不能来？ nǐ míngtiān néng bu néng lái Can you come tomorrow? With 吗: 你明天能来吗？ nǐ míngtiān néng lái ma	能。 néng (Yes, I can.) 不能。 bù néng (No, I can't.)
这里可不可以拍照？ zhèlǐ kě bu kěyǐ pāizhào Can I take photos here? With 吗: 这里可以拍照吗？ zhèlǐ kěyǐ pāizhào ma	可以。 kěyǐ (Yes, you can.) 不可以。 bù kěyǐ or 不行。 bù xíng (No, you can't.)

The short answer usually repeats the modal, with 不 in front for no. Two replies need care. When 能不能 asks for permission, as in the pen request above (我能不能用一下你的笔？ wǒ néng bu néng yòng yíxià nǐ de bǐ, could I borrow your pen for a moment?), the usual yes is 可以, not 能. And a bare 不可以 states a rule: it fits the photo question, but the natural way to turn down a personal request is 不行, as the next section explains.

The negatives are where learners get hurt

In the positive, a wrong choice sounds a little odd. In the negative, it can say something you did not mean at all.

Negative	Pinyin	What it really says
不会	bú huì	I don't know how — or it won't happen (a prediction). 我不会来 = I'm certainly not coming.
不能	bù néng	I can't (circumstances) — or you mustn't (it isn't appropriate). The normal way to cancel: 我今天不能来.
不可以	bù kěyǐ	Not allowed — a direct prohibition. Sharp; what a parent says to a child.
不行	bù xíng	No, that won't work. The everyday reply when refusing a request.

Cancelling plans: say 不能, never 不会. 我今天不能来 = I can't make it today (something is stopping me). 我今天不会来 = I'm not going to come today (a flat prediction, and it can sound like a decision you made). Same for work: 我不能喝酒 = I can't drink (driving, medication), 我不会喝酒 = I don't drink / can't hold my alcohol. Both are useful — just not interchangeable.

Blunt refusal

不可以。bù kěyǐ
No. You may not. Fine for a sign or a child; cold for an adult.

Natural refusal

不好意思，不行。bù hǎoyìsi, bù xíng
Sorry, that won't work. What people actually say.

For more ways to decline without sounding abrupt, see how to say yes and no in Chinese.

The other 会: “will”

会 has a second job that has nothing to do with skill: it predicts. When the subject is the weather, the future, or someone else's behaviour, 会 means will (probably).

明天会下雨。

míngtiān huì xià yǔ

It's going to rain tomorrow.

别担心，他不会生气的。

bié dānxīn, tā bú huì shēngqì de

Don't worry — he won't be angry.

The 的 at the end of the second sentence adds certainty: I'm sure he won't. How the three kinds of de differ is in 的, 得, 地 explained.

会

How Hanzijo makes this automatic. Each of the three modals is a separate entry in Hanzijo's HSK grammar bank, with example sentences in characters, pinyin and audio, and every character carries an exclusive mnemonic. The SRS engine brings 会, 能 and 可以 back just before they blur, and the interactive test widget quizzes you on your home screen without opening the app. In the conversation track you hear them in real dialogue and shadow them aloud until the choice is instinct.

Check yourself — which “can”?

Tap the word that fits. The explanation names the reason.

我＿＿弹钢琴。

I can play the piano.

Piano is a learned skill → 会 huì.

请问，这里＿＿抽烟吗？

Excuse me, is smoking allowed here?

Permission → 可以 kěyǐ. (能 would also be understood, but 可以 is the standard choice.)

对不起，我明天不＿＿来上课。

Sorry, I can't come to class tomorrow.

Circumstances stop you → 不能. 不会 would sound like a flat “I'm not coming.”

他腿好了，现在＿＿走路了。

His leg has healed — he can walk now.

Recovered ability, not a new skill → 能.

天很黑，一会儿＿＿下雨吧。

It's very dark — it'll probably rain soon.

A prediction about the weather → 会 = will.

— 我能借你的车吗？ — 不好意思，＿＿。

Can I borrow your car? — Sorry, no.

不行 is the natural refusal. 不可以 sounds like scolding; 不会 makes no sense here.

Practise this pattern in real sentences

Hanzijo explains 500+ grammar points from HSK 1 to 9, each with example sentences in pinyin and English and the mistakes learners usually make. Hanzijo follows one path from pinyin and tones to HSK 9, with characters, words, grammar, conversations and dictation at every level. See the HSK course.

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Quick reference

会 huì: Learned skill: 我会游泳. Also a prediction: 明天会下雨. 很会 = good at.
能 néng: Able in this situation (time, health, conditions, capacity): 我今天不能来. Recovered ability: 能走路了. Also soft permission: 我能…吗?
可以 kěyǐ: Permission: 这里可以拍照吗? Acceptable option / suggestion: 你可以坐地铁去. 还可以 = so-so.
Test order: Permission? 可以 → Learned skill? 会 → Otherwise 能.
Negatives: 不会 = don't know how / won't. 不能 = can't (circumstances). 不可以 = not allowed (sharp). 不行 = no (natural refusal).
Cancelling plans: 我今天不能来 — never 我今天不会来.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between 会, 能 and 可以?

会 = a learned skill (know how). 能 = able in the present situation. 可以 = allowed or acceptable. Ask: is it permission? was it learned? do conditions allow it?

What is the difference between 不能 and 不可以?

不可以 is a direct prohibition and sounds sharp. 不能 is broader and softer. In conversation, refuse with 不行 or 不好意思，不行.

Can 会 mean “will”?

Yes — for predictions: 明天会下雨 (it'll rain tomorrow), 他不会来的 (he won't come).

How do you ask for permission?

我可以…吗？ or the softer 我能…吗？, ideally with 一下: 我能用一下吗？ Answer 可以 / 当然可以 for yes, 不行 for no.

What does 还可以 mean?

“Not bad, so-so.” A lukewarm verdict — less positive than 不错.

Sources & further reading

Center for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC), official HSK site (chinesetest.cn) — the body that administers the HSK and publishes its syllabus.
国际中文教育中文水平等级标准 (GF 0025-2021), the national standard behind HSK 3.0, which lists 会, 能 and 可以 in the beginner band.
吕叔湘 (Lü Shuxiang), 《现代汉语八百词》 — the classic reference on Mandarin function words, including the distinctions between these three modal verbs.