Basic Grammar: all 87 lessons free
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可能 — Maybe, Probably, I'd Guess
助动词「可能」— 他可能饿了
他可能饿了, 我可能感冒了, 可能你不认识她: 可能 before the verb, or in front of the whole sentence, turns a statement into a guess.
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Memory hook
可能 + V · 可能 + whole sentence = maybe / probably
Probably
Four from the deck, then the guesses you will make about people. Hear 可能 soften every claim.
Tap any line to hear it
Probably大概是
No pressure — just making it stick.
宝宝哭了，他____饿了。
Bǎobao kū le, tā ____ È le.
The baby's crying — he's probably hungry.
You think he is in a meeting. Which reply?
I might be a little late.
Tap the tiles in order — it checks itself when the sentence is complete. Tap a placed tile to take it back.
Your sentence
我头疼，我____感冒了。
Wǒ tóuténg, wǒ ____ Gǎnmào le.
My head hurts — I think I've caught a cold.
Your turn — say it
可能我要迟到一会儿。
I might be a little late.
明天____会下雨，带雨伞吧。
Míngtiān ____ Huì xiàyǔ, dài yǔsǎn ba.
It'll probably rain tomorrow — bring an umbrella.
Finish each guess with the right piece.
Tap a word to fill the next gap; tap a filled sentence to clear it. Every word is used once.
Word bank
0/5Guesses, in pictures看图猜一猜
No pressure — just making it stick.
Four situations from the deck's guesses. Match each picture, then say what has probably happened.
Tap a picture, then choose its word. Picked wrong? Tap that picture and choose again. Match all the cards to finish.
Your turn — say it
他可能饿了。
He's probably hungry.
She's probably already asleep.
Tap the tiles in order — it checks itself when the sentence is complete. Tap a placed tile to take it back.
Your sentence
Your turn — say it
可能你不认识她，她是我的新同事。
You probably don't know her — she's my new colleague.
This lesson's characters
可 itself, and the two characters of the cold you probably caught.
can, may; -able
会two ideas joined
A mouth 口 with a curling stroke beside it: a breath let out, an assent — 'yes, you may'. 可以 is may, 可能 is may-be, 可爱 is love-able, cute, and 可乐, 'can-be-happy', is what Chinese made of Coca-Cola. Every 可 is a permission of some kind.
to feel
形meaning + sound
A heart 心 at the bottom, 咸 above it for the sound: what the heart feels. 感觉 is a feeling, 感谢 is gratitude, 感冒, 'to feel the cold', is to catch one. 我可能感冒了 — the heart under the weather.
to cover; to risk; (感冒) a cold
会two ideas joined
A cap 冃 pulled down over an eye 目: covered, and pushing out from under. 冒 is to risk or to venture — 冒险, adventure — and in 感冒 it is the cold that has come over you. 帽, the hat, wears the same cap with a cloth on the side.
Take these with you
Everything worth taking away. Tap any line to hear it.
Words 生词
Characters 汉字
Before you go课后回顾
- Next time you are running late, send the sentence before the hour: 可能我要迟到一会儿. Watch how the other person relaxes.
- Soften one judgement today with 可能: not 他忘了 but 他可能忘了. It costs one word and saves a friendship.
- Answer the deck's questions about five people you know — 最近可能会做什么 — and notice that guessing about others is most of what conversation is.