ได้ / เป็น / ไหว

Three Ways to Say Can

Level 2

Thai has three common ways to say 'can': เป็น (pen) highlights learned know-how, ได้ (dâai) expresses general ability, possibility or permission, and ไหว (wǎi) highlights strength or endurance. Their meanings can overlap.

How It Works

Thai has three common ways to express 'can'. Their meanings can overlap, but each highlights a different aspect of ability:

เป็น
ฉันว่ายน้ำเป็น names knowing how to swim. The tutor’s lesson likewise uses เป็น for acquired know-how.

ได้
It covers general ability, including acquired skills, situational possibility (I can go because I have time), permission (I can enter), and general results. In คุณพูดภาษาไทยได้ไหม, the question is about ability to speak Thai. Using ได้ instead also expresses general speaking ability.

ไหว
เขาวิ่งไม่ไหว says the person is not up to running; เผ็ดมากแต่กินไหว says eating the very spicy food is manageable. No exact illness, fatigue cause or earlier successful run is specified.

Use The Actual Negated Patterns
The swimming exercise supplies the intended meaning never learned to swim. For that meaning, ฉันว่ายน้ำไม่เป็น matches better than the explicitly contextualized ไม่ไหว comparison. The eating exercise asks for not being up to eating: ฉันกินไม่ไหว. Keep ไม่ immediately before ไหว in that displayed pattern. These examples do not establish a universal ban on all other positions of ไม่ in Thai.

Examples (5)

  1. ฉันว่ายน้ำเป็น

    I know how to swim.

    Word by Word: I | swim | know how to

    เป็น highlights knowing how to swim. It does not make ได้ invalid for every learned skill.

  2. วันนี้ฉันไปไม่ได้

    I can't go today.

    Word by Word: today | I | go | cannot

    The sentence states inability to go today. It does not specify a work commitment or another cause.

  3. เขาวิ่งไม่ไหว

    They are not up to running.

    Word by Word: they [singular] | run | not up to it

    เขา does not specify gender here. ไม่ไหว highlights insufficient capacity for running; the sentence alone does not prove prior running or name the cause.

  4. คุณพูดภาษาไทยได้ไหม

    Can you speak Thai?

    Word by Word: you | speak | Thai language | can | question

    ได้ asks whether the listener can speak Thai. It can express general ability and does not require a special temporary situation.

  5. เผ็ดมากแต่กินไหว

    It's very spicy, but I can handle eating it.

    Word by Word: very spicy | but | eat | can handle it

    ไหว describes being up to eating despite the strong spiciness. The Thai does not explicitly name the eater; I supplies one reading.

Common Mistakes

  • Treating ได้, เป็น, and ไหว as interchangeable.

    ฉันว่ายน้ำไม่ไหว (when I mean that I never learned to swim)
    ฉันว่ายน้ำไม่เป็น

    ได้ can express general ability, including an acquired skill. เป็น specifically highlights knowing how to do an activity, while ไหว highlights having enough strength or endurance. Choose the marker that matches your intended meaning.

  • Choosing The Displayed Pattern For Not Being Up To Eating

    ฉันไม่กินไหว
    ฉันกินไม่ไหว

    For this task’s meaning I am not up to eating, choose ฉันกินไม่ไหว. In that displayed pattern, ไม่ directly precedes ไหว. The alternative ฉันไม่กินไหว does not match the requested pattern; this task supplies no universal rule about every occurrence of ไม่ before a verb.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

ได้ / เป็น / ไหวLevel 2Three Ways to Say Can

Learn This First

This comparison helps you understand the differences between เป็น and ไหว. Study each pattern individually first.

Words in This Pattern

ได้ได้เป็นไหว