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能 néng , 才 cái , 待 dāi , by Sheila
These 3 words are very commonly used in Chinese, but their exact usage is sometimes not clear for my students. I hope the explanation and examples below will help you understand them better.
It is one of the 3 ways to express "Can" in Chinese. Here, it means physically capable or to indicate the possiblity of something (The word 能力 = ability)
Note: This is different from 会/會 (huì) which is to imply "an acquired ability"; the 2nd type of "can" sentences, and 可以 (kěyǐ), which indicates something is "permitted", "allowed"; the 3rd type of "can" sentences.
2）才 cái
"then and only then", to indicate an action that was only taken after a specific prior action/timeline has passed.
3）待 dāi
Simply means "to stay".
1.2) 我非常希望能通过这次的面试.
1.3) 这本书能帮助你更了解中国历史!
2.1) 你必须先买票，才可以进去听演唱会。
2.2) 才刚吃完午餐，怎么我又饿了？
2.3) 因为路上塞车，我们比平常晚了45分钟才回到家。
3.1) 他成天待在家里无所事事
3.2) 我和朋友们喜欢周末待在酒吧里一整晚
3.3) 她就快要到了，你要不要再多待一会儿？
A. 特殊文法說明 /特殊文法說明(tèshū wénfǎ míng) Grammar Points
1）能 néngIt is one of the 3 ways to express "Can" in Chinese. Here, it means physically capable or to indicate the possiblity of something (The word 能力 = ability)
Note: This is different from 会/會 (huì) which is to imply "an acquired ability"; the 2nd type of "can" sentences, and 可以 (kěyǐ), which indicates something is "permitted", "allowed"; the 3rd type of "can" sentences.
2）才 cái
"then and only then", to indicate an action that was only taken after a specific prior action/timeline has passed.
3）待 dāi
Simply means "to stay".
B. 例句 (lì jù) Sample Sentences
1.1) 你能帮我把窗户关起来吗？- Traditional: 你能幫我把窗戶關起來嗎？)
- PinYin: nǐ néng bāng wǒ bǎ chuānghù guān qǐlai ma？
- English: Can you help me to close up the window?
1.2) 我非常希望能通过这次的面试.
- Traditional: 我非常希望能通過這次的面試.
- PinYin: wǒ fēicháng xīwàng néng tōngguò zhècì de miànshì
- English: I really hope I can pass the interview this time
1.3) 这本书能帮助你更了解中国历史!
- Traditional: 這本書能幫助你更了解中國歷史!
- PinYin: zhè běn shū néng bāngzhù nǐ gèng liǎojiě Zhōngguó lìshǐ
- English: This book can help you to understand even more the Chinese history!
2.1) 你必须先买票，才可以进去听演唱会。
- Traditional: 你必需先買票，才可以進去聽演唱會。
- PinYin: nǐ bìxū xiān mǎi piào, cái kěyǐ jìnqù tīng yǎnchàng huì
- English: You must buy the ticket first, then you can go in (to listen) to the concert.
2.2) 才刚吃完午餐，怎么我又饿了？
- Traditional: 才剛吃完午餐，怎麼我又餓了？
- PinYin: cái gāng chī wán wǔcān, zěnme wǒ yòu è le?
- English: I just finished lunch, how come I am hungry again?
2.3) 因为路上塞车，我们比平常晚了45分钟才回到家。
- Traditional: 因為路上塞車，我們比平常晚了45分鐘才回到家。
- PinYin: yīnwei lùshàng sāichē, wǒmen bǐ píngcháng wǎn le fēnzhōng cái huí dào jiā
- English: Due to the road traffics, we arrived back home 45min later than usual.
3.1) 他成天待在家里无所事事
- Traditional: 他成天待在家裡無所事事
- PinYin: tā chéng tiān dāi zài jiā lǐ wúsuǒshìshì
- English: He stays at home and does nothing all the time
3.2) 我和朋友们喜欢周末待在酒吧里一整晚
- Traditional: 我和朋友們喜歡周末待在酒吧裡一整晚
- PinYin: wǒ hé péngyou men xǐhuān zhōumò dāi zài jiǔbā lǐ yī zhěng wǎn
- English: Me and my friends like to stay in the bar for the whole night during weekends
3.3) 她就快要到了，你要不要再多待一会儿？
- Traditional: 她就快要到了，你要不要再多待一會兒？
- PinYin: tā jiù kuài yào dào le, nǐ yàobúyào zài duō dāi yīhuìr?
- English: She will be here soon, do you want to stay a bit longer?