Introduction
可能 (kěnéng) is how you hedge in Chinese. Drop it in front of the verb and the sentence stops being a claim and becomes a guess: 他来 (Tā lái) is "he's coming"; 他可能来 (Tā kěnéng lái) is "he might come".
Overview
Structure: Subj. + 可能 (kěnéng) + Verb
| Pattern | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Subj. + 可能 + V | 他可能来。(Tā kěnéng lái.) | He might come. |
| 可能 + 不 / 没 | 他可能不来。(Tā kěnéng bù lái.) | He might not come. |
| 可能 + V + 了 | 他可能走了。(Tā kěnéng zǒu le.) | He's probably left. |
| At the front | 可能他不知道。(Kěnéng tā bù zhīdào.) | Maybe he doesn't know. |
| 不可能 | 他不可能知道。(Tā bù kěnéng zhīdào.) | There's no way he knows. |
可能不 (kěnéng bù) and 不可能 (bù kěnéng) are not the same thing:
- 他可能不来。(Tā kěnéng bù lái.) — maybe he won't come.
- 他不可能来。(Tā bù kěnéng lái.) — he can't possibly come.
- 可能 (kěnéng) is a guess about what is true; 能 (néng) is about being able to: 我可能来 (Wǒ kěnéng lái) vs 我能来 (Wǒ néng lái).
- On its own it is a complete answer: 可能吧。(Kěnéng ba.) — maybe.
Examples
他可能不来了。
Tā kěnéng bù lái le.
He might not be coming after all.
外面可能下雨了。
Wàimiàn kěnéng xià yǔ le.
It's probably started raining outside.
可能他不知道这件事。
Kěnéng tā bù zhīdào zhè jiàn shì.
Maybe he doesn't know about it.
我明天可能没时间。
Wǒ míngtiān kěnéng méi shíjiān.
I might not have time tomorrow.
这不可能是真的。
Zhè bù kěnéng shì zhēn de.
This can't be true.
他可能已经到家了。
Tā kěnéng yǐjīng dào jiā le.
He's probably home already.
Usage Notes
- The ordinary slot is between the subject and the verb. Moving it to the very front — 可能他不知道 (Kěnéng tā bù zhīdào) — makes the whole sentence a guess and sounds more casual.
- Time words go before it: 我明天可能没时间。(Wǒ míngtiān kěnéng méi shíjiān.)
- 可能 (kěnéng) works with a past sentence too, because a guess can be about something that already happened: 他可能走了。(Tā kěnéng zǒu le.)
- 不可能 (bù kěnéng) is a flat denial, so it is much stronger than 可能不 (kěnéng bù). Do not use it to soften anything.
- 可能 (kěnéng) is also a noun meaning "possibility", which is where 有可能 (yǒu kěnéng) — "it's possible" — comes from.