The correct way of saying "I can't...anymore" / “I won't...anymore"

[2bwo]

Today I ran into a strange situation while talking with a chinese friend. We were playing a game together and I was having a hard time to the point I told him "我再也不会玩了". What I wanted to say is "I can't play anymore" (I suddenly lost my skill) but what he understood is "I won't play anymore". After we clarified he told me I should have said "我再也不能玩了". But then I thought that with this sentence people could think that there is something that is keeping you from playing and so I asked for more examples.

For example, I asked if the sentence "I can't speak chinese anymore" (maybe you are having a hard time remembering something and you suddenly say "god, I can't speak chinese anymore") would work in the same way "我再也不能说中文了", but he said in this case people would understand that, for example, there is someone who is keeping you from speaking, exactly as I originally thought. He said the correct way of saying it would be 我再也不会说中文了. But then again, wouldn't this be misleading?

Also, I thought that "I won't...anymore" would have been "我不...了" or "我再也不...了".

So, what is the correct way of saying  "you can't ... anymore" (because you lost your ability) and "you won't ... anymore" (because something happened)?

[陳德聰]

I think there are a few points of confusion here. One is that your friend didn’t understand what you were trying to say even after you clarified, another is that you are not using 再也不 for the right situations, and the last is that you are unsure of the differences between 能 and 會.

 

For the first problem, your friend probably got confused by your use of 再也不 and then tried to give you a better way to say what he thought you wanted to say using 再也不. But you shouldn’t have used 再也不 in the first place to express what you were trying to express because it talks about the situation moving forward from the reference point. So if you say it while talking about now, you’re explaining what will happen in the future, i.e. I won’t play anymore and I won’t be able to play anymore.

 

再也不⋯了 and 不⋯了 mean different things. 再也 carries the notion of “never again.” 不⋯了 just means you did something before and now you’re not doing it.

 

But in my understanding, you are saying that you are finding you suck at this game now (can’t play), when you did not suck as much in the past (could play). When we talk about skill/ability in doing something, especially like playing games, we use 會. 他很會玩 or 他會玩 or 他不會玩 can all be used to say that he is good or bad at the game. You can insult someone by insinuating they 不會玩. But 會 can also express volition, which is what you express when you say 再也不會, which means “will never again.”

 

When I play 王者榮耀 for too long on my phone, and my head starts to hurt because I haven’t stayed hydrated or have squinted too hard or whatever, I will put down my phone (usually after losing) and say something like 不能再玩了 to my friends to explain that I can’t keep playing with them anymore.

 

If my understanding is correct, you really should have just said 我（怎麼/已經/突然）不會玩了. 

 

If you suddenly discover you suck:

我（突然）不會玩了

 

If you won’t play ever again, for any reason:

我再也不會玩了

 

If you can’t (not allowed, broke your arm, etc.) play ever again, for some reason:

我再也不能玩了

 

If you aren’t going to keep playing in the immediate future:

我不玩了

[2bwo]

Thank you a lot for your answer, it was really clear and finally made me understand the differences and where I was wrong. 我不会玩了 is exactly what I wanted to say, but when I asked to my friend if it was correct he said it wasn't. Probably because he misunderstood me since the beginning and thought that it wasn't what I originally wanted to say.

I will try to explain this to my friend and see if we get to agree each other.

[Xiao Kui]

I would say 我以后不再玩。or more emphatically 我以后就不再玩。but probably only if I was really frustrated with the game. I am not a native speaker but this sounds right to me, and this post makes me curious as to whether I am saying similar things the right way.. .???

[somethingfunny]

I'd probably say something like: 我好像不会玩了.

 

In the hope that it would sound like "It would appear I am (no longer) able to play (this game)."

[Wippen (inactive)]

我换给老师了！

Edited February 22, 2018 at 12:54 PM by Tøsen
Changed 换 to还 (post below)

[Xiao Kui]

I thought it was 还给老师 ? Or maybe you are saying something entirely different. This is what my Chinese friends always tell me about their English, that they gave it back to the teacher, meaning they've forgotten everything they've learned already (or perhaps never learned it to begin with)

[Wippen (inactive)]

5 minutes ago, Xiao Kui said:

还给老师 ? Or maybe you are saying something entirely different. This is what my Chinese friends always tell me about their English, that they gave it back to the teacher, meaning they've forgotten everything they've learned already (or perhaps never learned it to begin with)

Sorry, it is. Chose the spell suggestion. Embarrassing.

[Xiao Kui]

haha, no problem, we all help each other so we don't lose face in front of our Chinese friends

[Wippen (inactive)]

8 minutes ago, Xiao Kui said:

teacher, meaning they've forgotten everything they've learned already (or perhaps never learned it to begin with)

Evidently this is what I am trying to say. Do you think my suggestion would fit this context?

[Xiao Kui]

Quote

Evidently this is what I am trying to say. Do you think my suggestion would fit this context?

I feel like this is more for things you've learned over a long period of time and either never mastered or never used and forgot.  It means you learned it (or it was taught to you anyway) but since you can't do it now it is as if you gave every thing you learned back to the teacher.  I'm not an expert by any means, but this is just how I've understood it from context.

[Wippen (inactive)]

3 hours ago, Xiao Kui said:

feel like this is more for things you've learned over a long period of time and either never

Perhaps and this is also the context I know. In my own language I like to be creative and my first thought was to use 我还给老师

Being fond of chengyus I would also use 每況愈下。I know it is not perhaps the exact right context but it is OK here I think and you get a chance to practice a chengyu.

[abcdefg]

On 2/21/2018 at 4:51 PM, 2bwo said:

So, what is the correct way of saying  "you can't ... anymore" (because you lost your ability) and "you won't ... anymore" (because something happened)?

 

Sometimes one says "I can't" when they really mean "I won't" in order not to appear willfully unfriendly or unhelpful. 

 

Consider: "I won't lend you any more money" differs from "I can't lend you any more money (the unsaid part is -- even though I would like to.") The second refusal has been "softened." This happens in Chinese as well as in English. 

 

我真的不能再。。。