Use the examples with their context and limits. Recall a sentence before reading the model. Original teaching additions accompany examples adapted from Chinese Grammar Wiki (AllSet Learning, CC BY-NC-SA); see the course reference provenance.
Express a need and respond kindly
Say how you feel and what you would like to do.
Build the meaning
我不舒服 states feeling unwell; 我想休息 states a wish to rest. A language exercise does not diagnose illness.
会 asks about a learned skill; 能 can ask about possibility in the situation. Compare 会游泳 and 今天能游泳.
Useful words in context
- 不舒服 bù shūfu — feel unwell. 我不舒服。
- 休息 xiūxi — rest. 我想休息。
- 游泳 yóuyǒng — swim. 我会游泳。
- 会 huì — know how to. 你会游泳吗？
- 能 néng — can in the situation. 你今天能去吗？
Read for meaning
林安会游泳，但是今天不舒服。她今天不去游泳，想在家休息。
Lin An knows how to swim, but feels unwell today. She does not go swimming and wants to rest at home.
Listen to a different passage
Ask a partner to read this with the script closed. Use the online practice for browser playback.
我会游泳，但是今天不能去。我想休息。
I know how to swim, but cannot go today. I want to rest.
Speak and write
Ask a partner whether they can go today. In a fictional role, say you feel unwell and want to rest.
Write two sentences contrasting a skill and today’s possibility.
One speaking model: A: 你今天能去吗？ B: 我不舒服，想休息。 A: 好。
One writing model: 我会游泳。今天我不能去，想休息。
- Use 会 for the skill.
- Use 今天 to locate the situation.
- State the wish clearly.
Check the distinction: 会 and 能 overlap in some contexts, but a learned skill is different from being able to participate today.