能néng

能 (néng) in Simplified Chinese is a pictographic character that originally depicted a bear, its claws and snout forming the shape we now see as the modern character. Over millennia the pictogram was abstracted, yet the simplified form remains identical to the traditional, preserving the ancient image of a powerful beast. The character means “able, capable” and serves as a key component in words like 能干 (capable) and 可能 (possible), linking the idea of ability to the original animal strength.