{"id":2870,"date":"2018-10-27T02:52:26","date_gmt":"2018-10-27T02:52:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lingo-apps.com\/?p=2870"},"modified":"2019-09-09T07:11:56","modified_gmt":"2019-09-09T07:11:56","slug":"modal-neng-hui-keyi-chinese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lingo-apps.com\/zh-hans\/modal-neng-hui-keyi-chinese\/","title":{"rendered":"Lesson 17. Modal Verbs: The Difference Between Three CAN in Chinese"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\u80fd\uff0c\u4f1a\uff0c\u53ef\u4ee5,
The Difference Between \u80fd\uff0c\u4f1a\uff0cand \u53ef\u4ee5 in Chinese<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u80fd (n\u00e9ng), \u6703 [\u4f1a] (hu\u00ec) and \u53ef\u4ee5 (k\u011b y\u01d0) are all translated as can<\/strong>. Here comes the question, how do we decide when is the right time to use each of them?<\/p>\n

Compare these:<\/p>\n

\u6211\u80fd\u5f48\u92fc\u7434\u3002<\/p>\n

\u6211\u80fd\u5f39\u94a2\u7434\u3002<\/p>\n

W\u01d2 n\u00e9ng t\u00e1n g\u0101ngq\u00edn.<\/p>\n

I can play the piano.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u6211\u6703\u5f48\u92fc\u7434\u3002<\/p>\n

\u6211\u4f1a\u5f39\u94a2\u7434\u3002<\/p>\n

W\u01d2 hu\u00ec t\u00e1n g\u0101ngq\u00edn.<\/p>\n

I can play the piano.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u6211\u53ef\u4ee5\u5f48\u92fc\u7434\u3002<\/p>\n

\u6211\u53ef\u4ee5\u5f39\u94a2\u7434\u3002<\/p>\n

W\u01d2 k\u011b y\u01d0 t\u00e1n g\u0101ngq\u00edn.<\/p>\n

I can play the piano.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Just because three of the modal verbs have the same literally translation in a certain language, doesn\u2019t mean that three of them have the same exact meaning. This is one of the reasons why learning languages is so interesting. By learning foreign languages, you can have a different point of view, which may be completely distinct from your culture. <\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Let\u2019s discuss the difference between \u80fd (n\u00e9ng), \u6703 [\u4f1a] (hu\u00ec) and \u53ef\u4ee5 (k\u011b y\u01d0) one by one!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u80fd<\/strong> (n<\/strong>\u00e9<\/strong>ng)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Basic meaning: able<\/strong>, capable or having the skill to do something.<\/p>\n

Therefore, the sentence<\/p>\n

\u6211\u80fd\u5f48\u92fc\u7434\u3002<\/p>\n

\u6211\u80fd\u5f39\u94a2\u7434\u3002<\/p>\n

W\u01d2 n\u00e9ng t\u00e1n g\u0101ngq\u00edn.<\/p>\n

I can play the piano.<\/p>\n

implies that I am not sick or not feeling tired, so I have the physical ability to play the piano.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u6703<\/strong> [<\/strong>\u4f1a<\/strong>] (hu<\/strong>\u00ec<\/strong>)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Basic meaning: know how to<\/strong> do something, possessing or even mastering a skill after a period of learning.<\/p>\n

Therefore, the sentence<\/p>\n

\u6211\u6703\u5f48\u92fc\u7434\u3002<\/p>\n

\u6211\u4f1a\u5f39\u94a2\u7434\u3002<\/p>\n

W\u01d2 hu\u00ec t\u00e1n g\u0101ngq\u00edn.<\/p>\n

I can play the piano.<\/p>\n

implies that I am able to play the piano because I have been practicing the piano for a period of time. We believe that playing the piano is not a skill that we are born with, but an acquired skill.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u6703 [\u4f1a] (hu\u00ec) can also indicate a probability, <\/strong>likelihood or a future tense indicator.<\/p>\n

Example:<\/p>\n

\u660e\u5929\u6703\u4e0b\u96e8\u3002<\/p>\n

\u660e\u5929\u4f1a\u4e0b\u96e8\u3002<\/p>\n

M\u00edngti\u0101n hu\u00ec xi\u00e0 y\u01d4.<\/p>\n

It will rain tomorrow.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u53ef\u4ee5<\/strong> (k<\/strong>\u011b<\/strong> y<\/strong>\u01d0<\/strong>)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Basic meaning: allowed to <\/strong>do something, according to external circumstances (regulation, environment, other people\u2019s permission).<\/p>\n

Therefore, the sentence<\/p>\n

\u6211\u53ef\u4ee5\u5f48\u92fc\u7434\u3002<\/p>\n

\u6211\u53ef\u4ee5\u5f39\u94a2\u7434\u3002<\/p>\n

W\u01d2 k\u011b y\u01d0 t\u00e1n g\u0101ngq\u00edn.<\/p>\n

I can play the piano.<\/p>\n

implies that I have been given the permission to play piano by someone so I can play the piano.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

They are Interchangeable!<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In some circumstances, the usage of these modal verbs can be used interchangeably.<\/p>\n

Examples:<\/p>\n

For expressing abilities<\/strong>, we can use either \u80fd (n\u00e9ng) or \u6703 [\u4f1a] (hu\u00ec).<\/p>\n

For expressing possibilities<\/strong>, we can use either\u80fd (n\u00e9ng) or \u53ef\u4ee5 (k\u011b y\u01d0).<\/p>\n

For expressing permission<\/strong>, we can use either \u53ef\u4ee5 (k\u011b y\u01d0) or \u80fd (n\u00e9ng).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Negative Sentences<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Always use \u4e0d (bu) to negate the modal verbs!<\/p>\n

Read: Understanding No or Not in Chinese<\/a><\/p>\n

\u4e0d\u80fd (b\u00f9 n\u00e9ng) = lacking the ability to do something.<\/p>\n

\u4e0d\u6703 [\u4e0d\u4f1a] (b\u00fa hu\u00ec) = do not know how to do something.<\/p>\n

\u4e0d\u53ef\u4ee5 (b\u00f9 k\u011by\u01d0) = be not allowed to do something.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Let\u2019s learn Chinese today! Join us at LingoCards<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u80fd (n\u00e9ng), \u6703 [\u4f1a] (hu\u00ec) and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":2872,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[318,195],"class_list":["post-2870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chinese","tag-confusing-words","tag-modals","pmpro-has-access"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lingo-apps.com\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lingo-apps.com\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lingo-apps.com\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lingo-apps.com\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lingo-apps.com\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2870"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lingo-apps.com\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2870\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3969,"href":"https:\/\/lingo-apps.com\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2870\/revisions\/3969"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lingo-apps.com\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lingo-apps.com\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lingo-apps.com\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lingo-apps.com\/zh-hans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}