replying to this question

[wontonsoup]

when someone asks can u speak chinese?

how do i say i can only speak a little bit?

我只能说一点普通话? (doesn't sound right)

[Shadowdh]

我会说一点儿! should just about do it...

and perhaps 我就会说一点儿 for just speak a little... but others with more knowledge and who are way better at Chinese than I will be able to help...

[elina]

I think they all sound right:

我只能说一点普通话

我会说一点儿

我就会说一点儿 (as Shadowdh said, this sentence more emphasizes “just a little”)

[Xiao Kui]

I think you can also just reply 一点点

Since you only know a little, why stress yourself with a long sentence? Even native speakers often answer with short phrases or even just a word or two.

I still often answer this way even though I've studied for quite a while. It's good Chinese modesty and it's a lot less pressure than telling people you're fluent when you're really just proficient. (sh)

[Songyi]

Like what other people posted earlier, you can just say 一点儿 or 一点点, which is really 口语. Saying a whole sentence in response to a question sounds very rigid and unnatural.

From my understanding (I'm not a native speaker) of 会 and 能, 会 is used to signify you have the ability to do something (through learning; an acquired skill) and 能 is used for the other uses of can, be able to.

So, to me, 我会说一点儿 makes more sense than 我能说一点儿。The latter one sounds like you just got hit in the head and the paramedic asks ”Can you speak?“

Two more examples would be:

我会用筷子。

我能坐火车到东城吗？

[kjmillig]

Keep it simple:

Yi dian-dian