5 ms·

nope, "can" states ability, "may" permission

• cubefox 3y ago
  "You can't do that" = You are not allowed to do that
  • trelane 3y ago
    Sort of? It's along the lines of "Das kannst Du hier nicht machen!" it's sort of a metaphor. Yes, technically there's no physical impediment, but the social ones are high. If you want to speak to the social / political impossibility, you use "can." If you want to speak to the fact that it's forbidden by authority, you say "allowed."
    • cubefox 3y ago
      It's still ambiguous. There are (at least) two possible interpretations, which means it isn't the same concept. Same for "creepy", it is used to refer to quite different things.
  • geraldhh 3y ago
    Colloquialisms mustn't be taken literally
• deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]