可以
can; may; be permitted; okay
kěyǐ
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
Character breakdown
able to; -able; permission marker
to use; by means of; (here a grammatical particle)
Memory hook: 可 'permitted' + 以 'to' = permitted to (do something).
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
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可以 appears in 1 podcast episode at natural native speed, with full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.
Synonyms
Don't confuse 可以 with
FAQ
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