可以
can; may; be permitted; okay
HSK level
- Pinyin
- kěyǐ
- Part of speech
- verb
- Level
- HSK 3
- Strokes
- 9
- Register
- neutral
- In episodes
- 8
Stroke order for 可以
可以 is written with 9 strokes (可: 5, 以: 4). The animation replays automatically.
What does 可以 mean?
可以 (kěyǐ) is a modal verb meaning 'can,' 'may,' or 'be permitted to,' with the extra colloquial use of 'okay / not bad.'
It expresses three things English speakers should keep apart: (1) permission — '可以进来吗？' 'may I come in?'; (2) possibility/feasibility — '这个问题可以解决' 'this problem can be solved'; (3) evaluative 'okay/passable' — '这家饭店还可以' 'this restaurant is okay.' Two contrasts with English: first, Chinese splits 'can' across three modals — 可以 (allowed, possible), 会 (have the learned ability, future likelihood), and 能 (have the physical capability, situational possibility).
'I can swim' (skill) is 我会游泳; 'I can come tomorrow' (possible/allowed) is 我可以来; 'I can lift this' (physical ability) is 我能搬动. Mixing them up is the single most common HSK 2-3 error. Second, the negative is 不可以 (not allowed / not okay) — note that 不可以 sounds firmer than 不能, often used by parents and authorities.
Note: Fully neutral modal verb used in every register from casual chat to written contracts. As a one-word answer ('Sure / okay'), 可以 is friendly but slightly more formal than 行 (xíng).
Character by character
Memory hook: 可 'permitted' + 以 'to' = permitted to (do something).
Hear 可以 in real episodes
可以 appears in 8 Fluentide podcast episodes at natural native speed, 4 of them below. Each sentence plays at the easiest difficulty it exists in — switch it to hear the same moment at your level, with full pinyin and English throughout.
他可以在车里吃，不会弄脏车。
He can eat it in the car and will not dirty the car.
Top Chefs Cook Fine Food and Reach for Taco Bell After Work
你看计步器，可以知道走了多少步，可是不能知道身体一定好不好。
When you look at a pedometer, you can know how many steps you walked, but you cannot know for sure whether your body is healthy.
Must You Walk 10,000 Steps? Research Finds Benefits Around 7,000
看这些东西，人可以知道以前的事。
By looking at these things, people can know about the past.
A Hubei Man Copies Tomb-Robbing Novels and Gets Twelve Years in Prison
你开跑步机，就可以在上面跑步。
If you turn on the treadmill, you can run on it.
A Runner Trains on a Gym Treadmill and Wins His First Marathon
Example sentences
我可以进来吗？
Wǒ kěyǐ jìnlái ma?
May I come in?
spoken, polite
你可以坐在这儿。
Nǐ kěyǐ zuò zài zhèr.
You can sit here.
spoken
这里不可以抽烟。
Zhèlǐ bù kěyǐ chōuyān.
Smoking is not allowed here.
neutral
这个电影还可以。
Zhège diànyǐng hái kěyǐ.
This movie is okay.
spoken
明天我们可以一起吃饭。
Míngtiān wǒmen kěyǐ yìqǐ chīfàn.
We can have dinner together tomorrow.
neutral
Common phrases with 可以
Synonyms
能 = have the physical ability or situational possibility to do something ('I can lift 50 kg'). 可以 = permitted or feasible ('I'm allowed to / it's possible to'). 'I can't come tomorrow' is 明天我不能来 (something prevents me) — 不可以 would mean 'not allowed.'
Don't confuse 可以 with
Both can translate as 'can,' but 能 focuses on capability/possibility, 可以 on permission/feasibility. '医生说我不能喝酒' (the doctor says I can't drink — physically can't) vs '这里不可以喝酒' (drinking isn't allowed here).
Frequently asked questions
Related words from the same episodes
Acquire it by listening
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