才能通 - is this a word?

[Scoobyqueen]

I came across these three characters and think they may represent an expression meaning "repair". I have tried to look it up but only found expressions relating to transversing or negotiating a road. The context in which I heard it was something like when our heating system was going to be 才能通?

Any elucidation would be appreciated.

Edited October 5, 2008 at 10:39 AM by Scoobyqueen
sp.

[imron]

Probably three separate words:

才 - until

能 - able to be

通 - working

e.g. if you've just moved into a new apartment with natural gas for the stove and/or hot water, however the gas hasn't been connected yet, you might call up the gas company and ask 天然气何时才能通? How long is it going to be before the gas gets connected?

[leeyah]

right, 通 in the context you mentioned means there's no obstacle, indicating a "passable" condition (没有堵赛，可以穿过)：管子是通的 = the pipes are not blocked 电话没有通过 = the call could not get through

有路达到：四通八达 is used of railways/roads meaning extending in all directions：火车直通烟台 It's a thorough train to Yantai/the train goes straight to Yantai

通 actually has as many as 10 different meanings including 'get connected ' & 'it works' as mentioned above

[Philee]

lol, I don't think 才能通 means anything related with road.

才能通 although is not a standard word but actually for a veteran Chinese user, he can make new words himself, 'cause Chinese word does not actually mean by several characters' combination, instead it is the single character in every word that makes the word meaningful.

so 才能通, I think, means a person know many things and acquires many kinds of skills.

[imron]

so 才能通, I think, means a person know many things and acquires many kinds of skills.

Out of curiosity, why do you think it would be this instead of three separate words as listed above, especially given the context?

[Jialihai Jiejie]

It's quite obvious that 才能通 refers to the heating system rating, whether the system has passed some sort of tests.

Jialihai Jiejie

[Scoobyqueen]

Thanks Imron for the elucidation. You were correct. I got so hung up on clusters that I failed to consider each character.

The road and transverse meaning I got from the dictionary, cf this example:

该国大部分地区只有四轮驱动的车辆和驮畜队才能通过。

[Philee]

I just guess that. Without special context 才能通 can well mean talented person. But in the context above I think it means differently.