IDENTITY
能néngcan (ability); able; energy
HSK 1Top 29
CORE MEANING
can (ability); able; energy
- Part of speech
- auxiliary verb
- Register
- neutral
Senses
- 1.can (ability)HSK1
- 2.energyHSK4
FORM & BREAKDOWN
- Radical
- 肉flesh radical (ròu)
- strokes
- 10
- Structure
- left-right compound
- IDS sequence
- ⿰䏍𫧇
- left element (flesh + mouth shape)
- right element (two claws)
USAGE
Common words
可能kěnéngpossible; maybe
能力nénglìability
功能gōngnéngfunction
Graded examples
他不能来。Tā bù néng lái.HSK1
He cannot come.
RELATIONS
LEARNING
Memory aid
The character once pictured a strong bear — big ability.
- HSK version
- 3.0
- Frequency rank
- #29
- Memory aid
- imagery
TRUST & SOURCES
- Reviewed by
- AI-assisted editorial review
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-14
Sources
- CC-CEDICT 2026-01-01
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