能否 (néng fǒu) — whether or not (one can); is it possible | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Used in formal/written Chinese to ask 'whether (something) can'. 能否 is the written register; 与否 is an end-of-clause formal tag, not a fronted question word.

phrase

whether or not (one can)is it possible

Examples

能否？
Nǐ néng fǒu huí dá zhè ge wèn tí?
Can you answer this question?
能否。
Wǒ bù zhī dào tā néng fǒu tóng yì.
I don't know whether he will agree.
能否。
Wèn tí shì wǒ men néng fǒu jiě jué.
The question is whether we can solve it.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

能 gives can and 否 gives not, together asking whether something can or cannot.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

能 is an old picture of a bear, showing two paws and a face with an open mouth.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

不口否

Meaning part形符xíngfú

口口kǒumouth

Sound part声符shēngfú

不

不bù否pǐ

Same sound today

否 is built from 口 (mouth) and 不 (not), with 不 giving the sound and 口 relating to speech.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 4 3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 4 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.