The volitive auxiliary 会and能are very frequently used in daily life when learning Chinese language. Both 会and 能 can express the ability but there are some difference between them. First of all, when we intend to express to have certain ability after learning, we usually use 会. On the contrary, if there is no ability to do something, we use 不会. When the ability reaches a certain degree, level or efficiency, 能should be applied. In addition, 能can be used to show to recover certain ability. Here are two example, 我姐姐会说三种语言and他一分钟能打300个字.

If you see the sentence 他真能唱，唱了三个小时都不知道累when you study Chinese language, you need to know both 能and会can be applied to indicate that somebody has certain strong points and good at something. However, when comparing with the sentence他真会唱，和大明星唱得不相上下, you can also find some tine differences. The former one emphasizes to have certain ability in the area of quantity while the latter stresses the techniques of doing something.

When the words 能and会express the meaning of having ability to do something, they can be explained by “can” in English. As a result, those foreign students who come to study in Chinese language school in China often fail to tell the differences between them. In the actual teaching process, teachers need to pay special attention to make sharp contrast to help students understand that 会is to indicate be able to do something after learning while 能 shows whether you have certain ability.

For some examples, 我的一个朋友会说好几种语言and现在爷爷能下床了吗？if the teachers do not explain it with typical examples, they may make sentence like 我会走路了，你让我出院吧. When mentioning the Chinese language learning, we often hear many students say 会说汉语and会写汉字 but it is incorrect to say 会听中文and会看中国电影because说and 写need to be acquired through learning while 听and看are not.