World Languages Lexicon
10 Language-to-English Dictionarieskönnen
Pronunciation / Transliteration: koennen
"Das könnte wahr sein."
Comprehensive Definitions & Senses
2 senses- 1
Used to indicate possibility, ability in the past, or to make polite requests and suggestions.
"She could swim across the river when she was younger." - 2
Used conditionally to express what would happen under certain circumstances.
"We could go to the cinema if we finished our work early."
Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum
Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology
Derived from Middle English couthe, from Old English cūðe, the past tense of cunnan (to know, be able to). The 'l' was added in the 15th-16th century by false analogy with 'would' and 'should', which historically contained an etymological 'l'.
Which of the following is the closest synonym for "Could"?
10 Global Lexicons: How "Could" is said worldwide
Click any language below to open its dedicated Language to English dictionary page with native script & transliteration
pouvoir
Transliteration: pouvoir
"Il pourrait venir demain."
können
Transliteration: koennen
"Das könnte wahr sein."
potere
Transliteration: potere
"Potrebbe essere una buona idea."
poder
Transliteration: poder
"Podríamos viajar el próximo mes."
poder
Transliteration: poder
"Eu podia jurar que tinha visto isso."
सकना
Transliteration: sakna
"वह कल आ सकता था।"
能够
Transliteration: nénggòu
"我们明天可以去。"
할 수 있다
Transliteration: hal su itda
"그는 그것을 할 수 있었다."
できる
Transliteration: dekiru
Script: 出来る
"彼は泳ぐことができた。"
Related Vocabulary Words to Explore
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