<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 redundant.

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-username_1-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 redundancy.

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 redundant.


---

### 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 redundancies. 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.*


---

