能够
nénggòu · HSK 2
able
💪 能够 = 能 (ability) + 够 (enough) — having enough ability
能 means capability or ability; 够 means enough or sufficient. Together 能够 literally reads as having sufficient ability, which maps cleanly onto can or be able to.
能 — 厶 (head) + 月 (body/flesh) + 匕匕 (legs)
Originally a pictograph of a bear, showing its head, body, and powerful legs. Because bears were seen as strong and capable, the character was borrowed to mean 'ability' or 'can'. A new character 熊 (with the fire radical 灬) was later created for 'bear'.
够 — 句 (phonetic) + 多 (semantic 'much')
够 is a semantic-phonetic compound. 多 ('many, much') gives the meaning of sufficiency or abundance, while 句 (gōu/jù) supplies the sound. Originally written 夠 with the same parts reversed, it came to mean 'enough' or 'sufficient' in modern usage.