what does "se puede" mean and how would you use it?

Question

what does "se puede" mean and how would you use it?

Answer 1

Se puede means one is allowed to do something e.g. se puede fumar aquí, but more often you would see No se puede fumar meaning that smoking is not allowed.

Answer 2

I think that it is easy to learn the "se puede" or "se habla español" or etc by translating them as "one can" or "one speaks Spanish." This isn't always the best translation, but it helped me when I was learning it.

Answer 3

It was big during the Obama campaign.

Answer 4

In the positive sense, one can say ¡Sí se puede! = s/he CAN do it! You might shout this from the audience at a performer, boxer, etc to encourage them.