私は中国語を話すことはできますが、読むことはできません。

Sentence Analyzer

English Translation

I can speak Chinese, but I can't read it.

Furigana

私(わたし)は中国語(ちゅうごくご)を話(はな)すことはできますが、読(よ)むことはできません。

Romanji

Watashi wa chūgokugo o hanasu koto wa dekimasu ga, yomu koto wa dekimasen.

Words

私 (わたし、わたくし)

I; me; private affairs; personal matter; secrecy; selfishness

は (は)

topic marker particle; indicates contrast with another option (stated or unstated); adds emphasis

中国語 (ちゅうごくご)

Chinese (language)

を (を)

indicates direct object of action; indicates subject of causative expression; indicates an area traversed; indicates time (period) over which action takes place; indicates point of departure or separation of action; indicates object of desire, like, hate, etc.

話す (はなす)

to talk; to speak; to converse; to chat; to tell; to explain; to narrate; to mention; to describe; to discuss; to speak (a language)

事 (こと、こん)

thing; matter; incident; occurrence; event; something serious; trouble; crisis; circumstances; situation; state of affairs; work; business; affair; after an inflectable word, creates a noun phrase indicating something the speaker does not feel close to; nominalizing suffix; pretending to ...; playing make-believe ...; alias; aka; nickname; alternative name; also known as

出来る (できる)

to be able (in a position) to do; to be up to the task; to be ready; to be completed; to be made; to be built; to be good at; to be permitted (to do); to become intimate; to take up (with somebody); to grow; to be raised; to become pregnant

が (が)

indicates sentence subject (occasionally object); indicates possessive (esp. in literary expressions); but; however; still; and

読む (よむ)

to read; to count; to guess; to predict; to read (someone's thoughts); to see (e.g. into someone's heart); to divine