<p>做你能做的</p>

<p>or </p>

<p>做你可做的 sometimes means 'Do what you allowed'</p>

<p>and</p>

<p>做你力所能及的, Do what you are abled to</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-08-15T13:27:47.410Z
2017-08-15T13:39:30.283Z
2017-08-15T13:39:30.283Z
sfy
<p>做(v): to do</p>

<p>可做的(adj): doable (able to do/ allowed to do)</p>

<p>The phrase '<strong>做可做的</strong>' literally mean '<strong>do the doable</strong>' with the object 事/事情 omitted. It would be more natural and unambiguous to have the object intact. </p>

<p>For example:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>做事- do thing</p></li>
<li><p>做<strong>可做的</strong>事- do the <strong>doable</strong> thing </p></li>
</ul>

<p>(<em>thing that you are able to do/ thing that you are allowed to do</em>)</p>

<p>To sound more natural, you should use the compound word 可以 instead of the single character 可 and write: "做可以做的事"</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-08-15T19:02:53.573Z
2017-08-15T19:02:53.573Z
Tang Ho
<p>There is a phrase "盡力而為" which means "do your best".</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-08-16T03:02:11.917Z
2017-08-16T03:02:11.917Z
蔡鎮宇
<p>The title pretty much says it all. It makes sense to me, but Google gives "do it" when I plug the Chinese phrase into it. If 做可做的 sounds awkward or stilted, what would be a better way to express it?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-08-15T13:32:23.197Z
see jukuu for "do what you can":尽力做你所能做的事情,etc. 做可做的 seems unintelligible
user6065
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-08-15T21:28:00.063Z
Commonly pointed out in Chinese language learning materials (e.g. [here](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Comparing_%22hui%22_%22neng%22_%22keyi%22) is a three way distinction between 可, 能, and 会. See which word works most appropriate for what you are trying to express.
haksayng
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-08-16T09:46:50.377Z
does your 做可做的 come from a machine translated statement? if so, please don't trust it and find original statement instead. Possible translations: try your best; show your best experiences; do thing supposed to be allowed.  可 can be understood as : able to do, suggest to do, allowed to do.
Daniel Yang
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-08-16T12:08:47.607Z
Hi again, @DanielYeung! The Chinese was actually my (very elementary) attempt to translate the English myself.
JAF
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-08-17T00:52:11.947Z
Generally 做你能做的 is better than 做你可做的,  where, 能做的 (有能力 able to) means that you can do it, while 可做的 (可以做/有能力/胜任  或 允许做) means that you are allowed to do it. Without context, audience cannot know it means 能/胜任/可以 or 允许, so that use 做你能做的 to avoid confusion。in most scenarios, 能 = able to, 可 = allowed (e.g. has a certificate, granted).
Daniel Yang
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-08-17T12:51:04.027Z
So what I wrote is more like "do what you may," or "do what is allowed," rather than "do what you can" or "do what is possible"? Thanks!
JAF
<translation><phrase><nuance>
"Do what you can": Is 做可做的 natural?
# "Do what you can": Is 做可做的 natural?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-08-15)

The title pretty much says it all. It makes sense to me, but Google gives "do it" when I plug the Chinese phrase into it. If 做可做的 sounds awkward or stilted, what would be a better way to express it?

**Tags:** translation, phrase, nuance
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: see jukuu for "do what you can":尽力做你所能做的事情,etc. 做可做的 seems unintelligible  
> **username_2**: Commonly pointed out in Chinese language learning materials (e.g. [here](https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Comparing_%22hui%22_%22neng%22_%22keyi%22) is a three way distinction between 可, 能, and 会. See which word works most appropriate for what you are trying to express.  
> **username_3**: does your 做可做的 come from a machine translated statement? if so, please don't trust it and find original statement instead. Possible translations: try your best; show your best experiences; do thing supposed to be allowed.  可 can be understood as : able to do, suggest to do, allowed to do.  
> **username_0**: Hi again, @DanielYeung! The Chinese was actually my (very elementary) attempt to translate the English myself.  
> **username_3**: Generally 做你能做的 is better than 做你可做的,  where, 能做的 (有能力 able to) means that you can do it, while 可做的 (可以做/有能力/胜任  或 允许做) means that you are allowed to do it. Without context, audience cannot know it means 能/胜任/可以 or 允许, so that use 做你能做的 to avoid confusion。in most scenarios, 能 = able to, 可 = allowed (e.g. has a certificate, granted).  
> **username_0**: So what I wrote is more like "do what you may," or "do what is allowed," rather than "do what you can" or "do what is possible"? Thanks!  

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2017-08-15. Score: 1

做你能做的

or

做你可做的 sometimes means 'Do what you allowed'

and

做你力所能及的, Do what you are abled to


---

### Answer by username_5 on 2017-08-15. Score: 0

做(v): to do

可做的(adj): doable (able to do/ allowed to do)

The phrase '**做可做的**' literally mean '**do the doable**' with the object 事/事情 omitted. It would be more natural and unambiguous to have the object intact.

For example:

* 做事- do thing
* 做**可做的**事- do the **doable** thing

(*thing that you are able to do/ thing that you are allowed to do*)

To sound more natural, you should use the compound word 可以 instead of the single character 可 and write: "做可以做的事"


---

### Answer by username_6 on 2017-08-16. Score: 0

There is a phrase "盡力而為" which means "do your best".


---

