<p>(能)(得以) = (can) (be allowed to/ get to be)</p>
<p>Example:</p>
<p>&quot;能得以晉級&quot; = 能(can) 得以晉級(be allowed to advance )</p>
<p>&quot;未能得以脫罪&quot; = 未能 (cannot) 得以脫罪(get to be acquitted)</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>这就是中国书法千百年来之所以能得以传承的缘由。</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>With &quot;这就是 ~~~~ 的缘由&quot; (this is the reason of ~~~ ) in the sentence, &quot;之所以&quot; (the reason why) is redundant.</p>
<p>Instead of using 能得以, you can make it more simple by just using 能 (can) or 得以(be allowed to/ get to be)</p>
<ul>
<li>得以 (more literary)</li>
<li>能 (more colloquial)</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
<p>The following sentences are more grammatically fluent than the one in question</p>
<p>&quot;这就是 [千百年来, 中国书法<strong>得以</strong>传承] 的缘由&quot; <em>emphasize the 'long time'</em></p>
<p>&quot;这就是 [中国书法(<strong>能</strong>)传承千百年] 的缘由&quot; or &quot;这就是 [中国书法(<strong>得以</strong>)传承千百年] 的缘由&quot; <em>emphasize the subject itself</em></p>
</blockquote>
<ul>
<li>If you must use &quot;之所以&quot;, you should write the sentence like the following:</li>
</ul>
<p>&quot;中国书法 [之所以] 能传承千百年, 是因为 (insert reasons)&quot;</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-30T12:46:16.353Z
Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been [moved to chat](https://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/111223/discussion-on-answer-by-tang-ho-what-does--mean).
Becky 李蓓
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-21T00:19:39.070Z
2018-06-21T11:21:22.310Z
2020-06-17T09:50:11.587Z
Tang Ho
<p>能得以 can be comprehended as 能够得到.  </p>

<p>There's a nuance between 能得以传承 and 能传承. 能得以传承 implies that it can be inherited <strong>by people</strong>, and people would inherit because of that. It's kinda a proactive inheriting. 能传承 means something being able to pass through the generations, but not addressing people would be willing to inherit it. </p>

<p>Hope this clear to you.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-21T01:14:34.113Z
2018-06-21T01:14:34.113Z
dan
<p>Where did you see the sentence? It's terribly written. Lots of redundancy.</p>

<ol>
<li>这就是中国书法千百年来之所以能传承的缘由。</li>
<li>这就是中国书法千百年来得以传承的缘由。</li>
</ol>

<p>Pick one.</p>

<p>IMO the second sentence is shorter and denser in meaning, so it's slightly better in compositions, but you don't have to bother if you're learning Chinese as a second language.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-24T02:10:00.667Z
2018-06-24T02:10:00.667Z
thyu
<p>This is definitely a rambling expression. </p>

<p>However, the problem is not 能得以, but 之所以 and 能得以.</p>

<p>It could be</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>这就是中国书法千百年来能得以传承的缘由.</p>
  
  <p>这就是中国书法千百年来之所以能传承的缘由</p>
</blockquote>

<p>得以 means 'via that' or 'by that', old time 虚词 is not necessary, the sentence could rewrite to</p>

<p>这就是中国书法千百年来能被传承的缘由.</p>

<p>The 以 can also used for 被,so sometimes we may write 能得以 or 之所以, but use both is really redundant.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-21T08:02:50.293Z
2018-06-21T08:02:50.293Z
sfy
<p>This is because of the semantic value of the word 以 。  能得  is the ability of achieving 以 through 能.  I suggest looking at  compound words involving both characters.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-24T19:57:39.707Z
2018-06-24T19:57:39.707Z
Abe Shudug
<p>Instead of answering what <strong>能得以</strong> means, let's break this down into</p>

<blockquote>
  <p><strong>這就是「Ｘ」之所以能得「Ｙ」的緣由。</strong></p>
  
  <p><em>The reason we are able to get/obtain「Y」is because of「X」.</em></p>
</blockquote>

<p>Translate「X」and「Y」:</p>

<ul>
<li>「X」- <strong>中國書法千百年來</strong>, <em>Millenia of Chinese Calligraphic traditions</em> (paraphrased)</li>
<li>「Y」- <strong>以傳承</strong>, <em>Something that can be inherited; inheritable</em></li>
</ul>

<hr>

<blockquote>
  <p><strong>這就是中國書法千百年來之所以能得以傳承的緣由。</strong></p>
  
  <p><em>The reason we are able to obtain something inheritable is because of the millenia of Chinese calligraphic traditions</em>.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>This is a truly terrible sentence to behold, as you can see from the amount of redundancies. What the author of this sentence is really trying to say is that</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Chinese calligraphy is a tradition that is valuable, beautiful and worthy of continuation/inheritance</p></li>
<li><p>The tradition has developed over a period of thousands of years</p></li>
</ul>

<p>If I were to give a translation which captured something like this idea, I would say</p>

<blockquote>
  <p><em>We are the proud inheritors of the millenia-old tradition of Chinese calligraphy.</em></p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-06-21T13:02:15.980Z
2018-06-21T13:17:33.277Z
2018-06-21T13:17:33.277Z
dROOOze
<p>In the following sentence:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>这就是中国书法千百年来之所以<strong>能得以</strong>传承的缘由。</p>
</blockquote>

<ul>
<li><p>能 means "can", "be able to ~"</p></li>
<li><p>得以 also means "can", "be able to ~"</p></li>
</ul>

<p>So this is in conflict with each other. For me it seems that one word is enough in this context. </p>

<p>Pleco does not have the entry for 能得以, so I think it is not an idiom here.</p>

<p>Why are two words that seemingly mean the same thing used together in this context? What makes it different from just using a single word?</p>

<meaning-in-context><word>
What does 能得以 mean?
# What does 能得以 mean?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-06-20)

In the following sentence:

> 这就是中国书法千百年来之所以**能得以**传承的缘由。

* 能 means "can", "be able to ~"
* 得以 also means "can", "be able to ~"

So this is in conflict with each other. For me it seems that one word is enough in this context.

Pleco does not have the entry for 能得以, so I think it is not an idiom here.

Why are two words that seemingly mean the same thing used together in this context? What makes it different from just using a single word?

**Tags:** meaning-in-context, word


---

## 6 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2018-06-21. Score: 4

(能)(得以) = (can) (be allowed to/ get to be)

Example:

"能得以晉級" = 能(can) 得以晉級(be allowed to advance )

"未能得以脫罪" = 未能 (cannot) 得以脫罪(get to be acquitted)

> *这就是中国书法千百年来之所以能得以传承的缘由。*

With "这就是 ~~~~ 的缘由" (this is the reason of ~~~ ) in the sentence, "之所以" (the reason why) is redunusername_3t.

Instead of using 能得以, you can make it more simple by just using 能 (can) or 得以(be allowed to/ get to be)

* 得以 (more literary)
* 能 (more colloquial)

> The following sentences are more grammatically fluent than the one in question
>
> "这就是 [千百年来, 中国书法**得以**传承] 的缘由" *emphasize the 'long time'*
>
> "这就是 [中国书法(**能**)传承千百年] 的缘由" or "这就是 [中国书法(**得以**)传承千百年] 的缘由" *emphasize the subject itself*

* If you must use "之所以", you should write the sentence like the following:

"中国书法 [之所以] 能传承千百年, 是因为 (insert reasons)"

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been [moved to chat](https://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/111223/discussion-on-answer-by-tang-ho-what-does--mean).  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2018-06-21. Score: 1

能得以 can be comprehended as 能够得到.

There's a nuance between 能得以传承 and 能传承. 能得以传承 implies that it can be inherited **by people**, and people would inherit because of that. It's kinda a proactive inheriting. 能传承 means something being able to pass through the generations, but not addressing people would be willing to inherit it.

Hope this clear to you.


---

### Answer by username_4 on 2018-06-24. Score: 0

Where did you see the sentence? It's terribly written. Lots of redunusername_3cy.

1. 这就是中国书法千百年来之所以能传承的缘由。
2. 这就是中国书法千百年来得以传承的缘由。

Pick one.

IMO the second sentence is shorter and denser in meaning, so it's slightly better in compositions, but you don't have to bother if you're learning Chinese as a second language.


---

### Answer by username_5 on 2018-06-21. Score: 0

This is definitely a rambling expression.

However, the problem is not 能得以, but 之所以 and 能得以.

It could be

> 这就是中国书法千百年来能得以传承的缘由.
>
> 这就是中国书法千百年来之所以能传承的缘由

得以 means 'via that' or 'by that', old time 虚词 is not necessary, the sentence could rewrite to

这就是中国书法千百年来能被传承的缘由.

The 以 can also used for 被,so sometimes we may write 能得以 or 之所以, but use both is really redunusername_3t.


---

### Answer by username_6 on 2018-06-24. Score: 0

This is because of the semantic value of the word 以 。 能得 is the ability of achieving 以 through 能. I suggest looking at compound words involving both characters.


---

### Answer by username_7 on 2018-06-21. Score: 0

Instead of answering what **能得以** means, let's break this down into

> **這就是「Ｘ」之所以能得「Ｙ」的緣由。**
>
> *The reason we are able to get/obtain「Y」is because of「X」.*

Translate「X」and「Y」:

* 「X」- **中國書法千百年來**, *Millenia of Chinese Calligraphic traditions* (paraphrased)
* 「Y」- **以傳承**, *Something that can be inherited; inheritable*

---

> **這就是中國書法千百年來之所以能得以傳承的緣由。**
>
> *The reason we are able to obtain something inheritable is because of the millenia of Chinese calligraphic traditions*.

This is a truly terrible sentence to behold, as you can see from the amount of redunusername_3cies. What the author of this sentence is really trying to say is that

* Chinese calligraphy is a tradition that is valuable, beautiful and worthy of continuation/inheritance
* The tradition has developed over a period of thousands of years

If I were to give a translation which captured something like this idea, I would say

> *We are the proud inheritors of the millenia-old tradition of Chinese calligraphy.*


---

