「Capability」和「Capacity」都是「能力」，他們到底一不一樣？

ability

actual skill, either mental or physical; native or acquired

實際能力，腦力或者體力上的；指人先天的或學來的各種能力。

例：

...the ability to bear hardship.

吃苦耐勞的能力...

Capability

unique fitness for a defined end; sometimes may be used in place of ability, but its use in place of capacity is incorrect

多用於人，針對特定目的的具體能力（常有「勝任」某職務的意思）；有時可用來代替ability，但它不能替代capacity

often refers to extremes of ability

通常指你能達到的能力的極限

例：

It was, in any case, beyond the capability of one man.

無論如何，一個人是做不到的。

Capacity

potential to develop a skill, usually mental; native, as opposed to acquired

側重指潛在能力，通常不指體力，多指才智，尤指接受與領悟能力；先天的，不是後天努力能得到的

a measure of such ability.

衡量某一能力的標準或者尺度；capacity實際上多與數量或容量有關，表示能力的一種度量。通常用在物上，表示某物的容納等能力

例：

vital capacity n. 肺活量

最後，

我們放在句子裡對照理解一下

I have the ability to write.

我能寫作。

意思就是：

I've always been interested in writing, and I took some classes.

我一直對寫作很感興趣，我也上過一些寫作課。

I don't have the capability to write a novel.

我不能寫小說。

意思就是：

My skill is in poetry, not creating a fictional story.

我很擅長寫詩歌，但是我不擅長創作小說。

I do have the capacity to write a novel, but I don't want to.

我能寫小說，但是我不想。

意思就是：

I don't want to put the mental effort into writing a long story.

我不想把精力花在寫一個長篇故事上。

長按圖片識別二維碼關注

覺得推文對你有用，就請您點這裡