少し日本語を話します and 少し日本語を話せます - What's the difference?


What changes, in these phrases? The change is the し for the せ. A friend told
me that the second one was better for saying _I speak little japanese_.

> 私は少し日本語を話 **し** ます。
>
> 私は少し日本語を話 **せ** ます。




> 私は少し日本語を話します。

I will speak a little Japanese. (starting now)

> 私は少し日本語を話せます。

I can speak a little Japanese. (the ability to speak)

On a side note, a quick grammar fix (leaving word order as is)

私は少し日本語 **が** 話せます。




Just copied & pasted from [my half-year-old
answer](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/19733/7810) (though the question
itself isn't a duplicate):

* * *

> Though I translated 日本語を話す into "speak Japanese", the verb doesn't have "be
> able to speak" sense, so every time you have to explicitly use potential
> form when you question about ability.
>

>> 日本語が話せますか？ _Do you speak Japanese?_

>
> compared to:
>

>> 日本語を話しますか？ _Are you going to speak Japanese?_

* * *

