v.
to swim
游泳
Common Usage & Traps
- 去游泳 — go swimming
- 会游泳 — know how to swim
- 喜欢游泳 — like swimming
- 学游泳 — learn to swim
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我能游泳 (for a skill)我会游泳能 is about conditions on the day — time, energy, permission. For a learned skill like swimming, use 会.
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做游泳游泳 / 去游泳English 'do swimming' has no mirror in Chinese. 游泳 already carries the action, so 做 just gets in the way.
Should 'I can swim' be 会游泳 or 能游泳?
会游泳 means you learned the skill; 能游泳 is about being free or able right now.
会 flags something you picked up and now know how to do, like swimming, driving, or cooking. 能 is about conditions — whether you have the time, the energy, or the green light today. So 我会游泳 answers 'do you know how?' while 今天能游泳 answers 'can you fit it in today?' Two different questions, two different characters.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Skill you learned | 我会游泳 | 我能游泳 |
| Free or able today | 今天能游泳 | 今天会游泳 |
| Question answered | Do you know how? | Can you manage it now? |
Why does 我昨天游了泳 sound right while 我昨天游泳了 sounds clunky?
游泳 splits in half when little words show up — say 游了泳, not 游泳了.
游泳 is really 游 plus 泳 fused into one habit, like 睡觉 and 见面. When 了, a length of time, or a finish word shows up, it parks in the middle of the two halves. So you get 游了泳, 游了两个小时的泳, 游完泳. Think of it as two puzzle pieces with a gap that's always open for the small words.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| With 了 | 游了泳 | 游泳了 |
| Length of time | 游了两个小时的泳 | 游泳了两个小时 |
| After finishing | 游完泳 | 游泳完 |
Do you need 去 in front of 游泳, or can you just say 游泳?
游泳 names the activity; 去游泳 means you're heading somewhere to do it.
游泳 on its own names the skill or the hobby, no travel involved. Add 去 and you paint a picture of going somewhere — the pool, the lake, the gym — to actually swim. 我喜欢游泳 is 'I like swimming' as a hobby. 我下午去游泳 means you've got a plan to go do it. Both fine, different scene. “我有时会去游泳。” (Sometimes I go swimming.) ── [《你喜欢看老电影吗？》](/read/do-you-like-old-movies#s10)
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Hobby or skill | 我喜欢游泳 | 我喜欢去游泳 (pushes it toward a trip) |
| Plan to go | 我下午去游泳 | 我下午游泳 (just states a fact) |
| Focus | the activity itself | the trip out to do it |
Featured in Story Deep Dive
Follow how this word unfolds across the narrative arc of this graded story.
In this dialogue, two people chat while waiting outside a cinema. You'll hear common phrases for talking about hobbies, sports, and movie preferences.
- Scene #1
我有时会去 游泳 。
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