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.
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”
Know how. A skill that exists in you because you learned it — languages, swimming, driving, cooking.
Able to. Your body, your schedule or the situation allows it — or doesn't.
Permitted. A rule, a person or common sense says it is OK — or an option is acceptable.
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.
1Use 会 for anything you had to learn. If there was a time you couldn't do it and practice changed that, it is 会.
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.
Use 可以 for permission, and for saying an option is acceptable or a good idea.
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 maMay I come in?
能 — softer, “could I”
我能用一下你的笔吗？wǒ néng yòng yíxià nǐ de bǐ maCould 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.
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. |
Blunt refusal
不可以。bù kěyǐNo. 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 xíngSorry, 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).
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.
Check yourself — which “can”?
Tap the word that fits. The explanation names the reason.
Piano is a learned skill → 会 huì.
Permission → 可以 kěyǐ. (能 would also be understood, but 可以 is the standard choice.)
Circumstances stop you → 不能. 不会 would sound like a flat “I'm not coming.”
Recovered ability, not a new skill → 能.
A prediction about the weather → 会 = will.
不行 is the natural refusal. 不可以 sounds like scolding; 不会 makes no sense here.
From knowing the rule to saying it without thinking
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Learn Chinese with Hanzijo - FreeQuick 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.
- 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.