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Permission & Prohibition

Learn how to ask for permission, grant it using 可以, and state prohibitions using 不能 in Chinese.

To ask or give situational permission in Chinese, we use the auxiliary verb 可以 (kěyǐ) directly before the verb:

可以 + [Verb]: Means "may / is allowed to [do something]".
不能 (bùnéng) or 不可以 (bù kěyǐ) + [Verb]: Expresses prohibition or that something "cannot / is not allowed to" be done.

你可以喝茶。

You can drink tea (you have permission).

Practice

Follow along with these examples to strengthen your understanding.

我可以喝茶嗎？

May I drink tea?

你可以喝茶。

You can drink tea.

我可以打網球嗎？

May I play tennis?

你不能打網球。

You cannot play tennis.

我可以看這本書嗎？

May I read this book?

你可以看這本書。

You can read this book.

我可以打掃房間嗎？

May I clean the room?

你現在不能打掃房間。

You cannot clean the room now.

Trace your learning progress and get real-time feedback with interactive exercises.

Permission & Prohibition | Ringoo