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可能

Mandarin · pinyin kě néng

Meanings

  1. might (happen)
  2. possible
  3. probable
  4. possibility
  5. probability
  6. maybe
  7. perhaps
  8. Classifier: 個 gè
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Characters in this entry

可
kě · may, can, -able; possibly
能
néng · to be able; can, permitted to; ability
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Entries containing 可能 ↗Words written with 可 ↗Words written with 能 ↗

Mandarin tones

3–2 · ke3 neng2

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Sentences in context

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 6 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ho2 nang4

Cantonese word readings for 可能. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

adj

  1. possible; probable; likely

adv

  1. maybe; perhaps; probably; might; may

noun

  1. possibility; probability; likelihood (Classifier: 個／个)

verb

  1. (literary) to be competent to; to have the ability to
  2. (literary) can be achieved; to be possible

phrase

  1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see 可 (a question-forming particle), 能 ("can; be able to").

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack