In Mandarin there are 2 verbs for can do and able to. In English, in many circumstances the distinction is minimal. In other languages the distinction can be vast. Chinese culture precludes the speaker from overpromising one’s own abilities. For example, a humble soccer player would not assume that he is the only person in present company that has some mastery of soccer. In the Chinese context, instead of appearing boastful, Bob would say, “I play a little.” In the American context, others who later found out that Bob has played on his college team may find Bob very untruthful. For this reason, between Chinese, they may ask a clarifying question such as can (huì) you play soccer? (mastery) or are you able to (néng) play soccer? (ability) This negotiation of truth is frequently done in native Chinese conversations.
