asking situation

[wontonsoup]

in a situation such as asking a teacher if you can go to the toilet

are any of these correct:

我可不可以去厕所?

我能不能去厕所?

are these acceptable, too me it sounds more like your asking if it's possible, or if i have the abilitly to go to the toilet, especially the second one with 能 used.

if they are wrong, how would you ask this?

[skylee]

To me, both are correct.

[wai ming]

I'd tend to go for the first one.

[Koneko]

Yes, they're both okay.

我可不可以去厕所?

CAN I go to the loo?

我能不能去厕所?

MAY I go to the loo?

Like Wai Ming, I prefer to use the first sentence but it's perfectly okay to use the second sentence too. It sounds a little more polite, maybe?

[Nibble]

Would 上廁所 be better?

[imron]

Would 上廁所 be better?

To me this is rather more descriptive of what you will be doing, which is perhaps not the sort of imagery you want to place in the mind of the listener.

I was under the impression that the nicest way to excuse yourself to go to the toilet was asking something like:

我可以出去一下吗？

with the implication being that I'd be going out to use the loo. If that implication was ever in doubt, you could always preface it with something like:

我有点内急, 可不可以出去一下？

[Meng Lelan]

In the situation you are describing, it's far more discreet and polite to say

wo keyi qu fangbian yixia ma?

我可以去方便一下吗？

In an American classroom it's okay to say you want to go to the bathroom and be direct about it , but in a Chinese classroom you don't want to be *that* direct about it.

Lelan

[skylee]

Oh I didn't know about all these nuances. All I know is that I would use 去洗手間 or 去洗手 if the situation requires it. But this is only for my circle, I suppose.

I would never tell other people that I am 內急 or I have to go to 方便.

[Koneko]

上厕所就上厕所,何必那么麻烦?

[chenpv]

上厕所就上厕所,何必那么麻烦?

Oh,well, that's simply because you never encountered someone who was eager to hilariouly report a 'dump' or 'leak' in Chinese before or after that, that... hmm conduct.

[Lugubert]

In an American classroom it's okay to say you want to go to the bathroom and be direct about it , but in a Chinese classroom you don't want to be *that* direct about it.

Using "bathroom" for the loo doesn't strike me as being very direct...

[Meng Lelan]

I would never tell other people that I am 內急 or I have to go to 方便.

方便means "convenient", not to be confused with 大便 or 小便

Using "bathroom" for the loo doesn't strike me as being very direct...

Saying 厕所 might not seem very direct to you but it does seem pretty direct to the Chinese teacher in a Chinese classroom with Chinese classmates. Though it's understandable in a less formal classroom situation. I wouldn't want to say in front of everyone I'm going to the 厕所 , too embarassing I guess.

[skylee]

I would never tell other people that I am 內急 or I have to go to 方便.[/quote'] 方便means "convenient", not to be confused with 大便 or 小便

That's right, but it doesn't mean that I would use it.

[Lugubert]

I wasn't referring to cesuo, but to the English euphemism "bathroom" (or, for that matter, "lavatory").

[Koneko]

I normally use the English word, loo, for 厕所.

[jie2li4]

Actually I find that people in Taiwan are very open (perhaps too open?) about things like this. I teach at a 补习班, and people-- kids and teachers alike-- say 上厕所 all the time. Unless you're talking about kids under the age of seven or so, who say 老师，我要去尿尿！ Kind of like "I have to go potty!" in English, I guess.

In Beijing, on the other hand, I don't think I ever heard anyone say 厕所。 People always said 洗手间 or 卫生间。 In Taiwan, I only see those words on signs, but everyone seems to say 厕所。 A regional difference?

[Gulao]

Maybe I'm completely off the mark, here, but "我能不能去厕所？" Sounds like it would garner odd looks to me. 能, to me always implied capability, and it's use in such a question would be to ask if I have the capability to go to the restroom. Now, I've seen evidence to suggest that this definition can alter in much the same way that the English word, "can," can alter, to mean something more along the lines of "may." But as someone who was brought up on the response, "I don't know, can you?" I'm inclined to thumb my nose at such a use, anyway.

[Koneko]

A regional difference?

Well, what can I say? It's more like a regional preference.

[Ding Yiyi]

I was always under the impression that 卫生间 would be the preferred noun in this sentence as it is more along the lines of "restroom" than 厕所 which is "toilet."

As to the actual structure of the sentence, I would choose the first, it sounds more along the lines of asking permission.

[Koneko]

Would 化装间 [lit. powder room] be anymore appropriate?

We don't use it in Modern Chinese these days but it's still commonly used in Japan.