能 (néng) -- Expressing Ability or Possibility

能 (néng) is often translated as "can", which is used to express ability or possibility of doing something. In this article, we are going to learn more about these two usages. 

1) to express "ability": Subject + 能 + Verb + Object

• 她们能唱中文歌。They can sing Chinese songs. 

• 你能讲英语吗？Can you speak English?

• 我的手机能上网。I can surf the Internet through my mobile phone.
• 他能跑五千米。He can run for 5000 meters.
• 他太小了，不能自己穿衣服。He is too young to dress himself. 

2) to express "possibility": Subject + 能 + Verb + Object

• 这儿不能吸烟。Smoking is not allowed here. （Smoking is forbidden here.)
• 上中文课，我们不能讲英文。We can not speak English in the Chinese class. (Perhaps, English is not allowed in the classroom, which is against the class rule.)
• 你能帮我吗？Can you help me?
• 她病了，不能来了。She's sick, so she can not come.
• 我能行。I can do it. 

Please translate the following sentences:

1) I am having a class, so I can not talk with you.

2) Can you sing this song?

3) He can not eat spicy food.

4) I can speak Chinese and I can write a lot of Chinese characters. 

5) I do not have my wallet with me, so I can not buy this book now. 

6) He can do programing. 

7) The computer is broken, so I can not use it now. 

Please tell us some of your talents by using "我能..." structure. 

Reference:
http://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_ability_or_possibility#Expressing_Possibility

鸟 Bird Radical

Can you distinguish these characters and find the similarities among them? Yes, they all have 鸟 the bird radical and all of them are in the bird family. Please leave a comment below if you find it interesting or if you have any questions. Enjoy!!

100 Common Chinese Family Names

In China, the family name is put before the given name, perhaps because family is a very crucial concept in Chinese culture. Here are 100 common  Chinese family names, which covers almost 87% of the entire population, according to the statistical records. The first twenty in the list below represents about half of the whole Chinese people. Please check it out, and see whether you have any Chinese friends whose family names are in the list.  1.         李        Lǐ 2.         王        Wáng 3.         张        Zhāng 4.         刘        Liú 5.         陈        Chén 6.         杨        Yáng 7.         赵        Zhào 8.         黄        Huáng 9.         周        Zhōu 10.       吴        Wú 11.       徐        Xú 12.       孙        Sūn 13.       胡        Hú 14.       朱        Zhū 15.       高        Gāo 16.       林        Lín 17.       何        Hé 18.       郭        Guō 19.       马        Mǎ 20.       罗        Luó 21.       梁        Liáng 22.       宋        Sòng 23.       郑        Zhèng 24.       谢        Xiè 25.       韩        Hán 26.       唐        Táng 27.       冯        Féng 28.       于        Yú 29.       董        Dǒng 30.       萧        Xiāo 31.       程        Chéng 32.       曹        Cáo 33.       袁        Yuán 34.       邓        Dèng 35.       许        Xǔ 36.       傅        Fù 37.       沈        Shěn 38.       曾        Zēng 39.       彭        Péng 40.       吕        Lǚ 41.       苏        Sū 42.       卢        Lú 43.       蒋        Jiǎng 44.       蔡        Cài 45.       贾        Jiǎ 46.       丁        Dīng 47.       魏        Wèi 48.       薛        Xuē 49.       叶        Yè 50.       阎        Yán 51.       余        Yú 52.       潘        Pān 53.       杜        Dù 54.       戴        Dài 55.       夏        Xià 56.       钟        Zhōng 57.       汪        Wāng 58.       田        Tián 59.       任        Rén 60.       姜        Jiāng 61.       范        Fàn 62.       方        Fāng 63.       石        Shí 64.       姚        Yáo 65.       谭        Tán 66.       盛        Shèng 67.       邹        Zōu 68.       熊        Xióng 69.       金        Jīn 70.       陆        Lù 71.       郝        Hǎo 72.       孔        Kǒng 73.       白        Bái 74.       崔        Cuī 75.       康        Kāng 76.       毛        Máo 77.       邱        Qiū 78.       秦        Qín 79.       江        Jiāng 80.       史        Shǐ 81.       顾        Gù 82.       侯        Hóu 83.       邵        Shào 84.       孟        Mèng 85.       龙        Lóng 86.       万        Wàn 87.       段        Duàn 88.       章        Zhāng 89.       钱        Qián 90.       汤        Tāng 91.       尹        Yǐn 92.       黎        Lí 93.       易        Yì 94.       常        Cháng 95.       武        Wǔ 96.       乔        Qiáo 97.       贺        Hè 98.       赖        Lài 99.       龚        Gōng 100.     文        Wén