The word 能否 is formed by directly combining two independent characters, each with its own core meaning: 能, meaning "can" or "to be able", and 否, meaning "not" or "to negate". Their fusion creates a single lexical unit that conceptually blends affirmation and negation into one idea, effectively representing the notion of "whether or not it is possible". It is a concise, fixed pairing born from classical Chinese usage, where such compact character couplings efficiently capture a dual-sided or interrogative sense.