Can you override a private or static method in Java?

No. Private methods aren't inherited at all, so a same-named method in a subclass is a completely new, unrelated method, not an override. Static methods belong to the class, not an instance, so a same-named static method in a subclass hides the parent's version (resolved at compile time based on the reference type) rather than overriding it (which is resolved at runtime based on the actual object type).