"He can speak many languages."
Translation:他能说很多种语言。
21 CommentsThis discussion is locked.
I'm a native speaker and I hardly use 能 in this context. I literally frowned when I saw the components I could choose from.
I was taught to use 会 for ability to do a learned skill, including speaking languages. I was taught that 能 is for literal ability, so using 能 for a language would mean being physically capable of voicing the sounds required to speak the language. Can someone else chime in on this?
its more like, 会 means i can because i possess the skill to, 能 means its possible for me to do it and 可以 means i can do it becasue i have permission
yes, you could use 会(hui4) instead or omit it entirely, but neng2 能 is also correct. By omitting I mean that 他说很多种语言 would also be correct.
I feel like 懂得 couldn't be used. 懂得 is a verb which means "understand" or"know," but I don't think you could say 他懂得说很多语言. Maybe you could say 他懂得怎么说很多语言. Anyone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
1649
Yeah I'm getting really confused by the use of 能，可以 and 會 in this course. I agree with you and would use 會 when talking about being able to do something like speak languages. I'm interested to hear what other users think.
- 1625
Why do you feel that a measure word should be used with 很多 ？
他有很多猫 = He has many cats ( no 只 is used )
Is 种语言 a special case or do you think measure words should always be used?
