Expressing Potential in Japanese || ALL Sentence Structures

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Home A2 Expressing potential in Japanese

POTENTIAL IN JAPANESE

When expressing yourself in another language, being able to articulate potential is an essential weapon in the arsenal you’ll need to develop.

Let’s have a look at the different ways to form sentences to express potential in Japanese.

THE JAPANESE POTENTIAL FORM

Conveniently, there’s actually a potential form of conjugation of verbs in Japanese.

The potential form is used for personal-related things as well as general possibilities.

There are a few rules surrounding their formation, which are outlined below:

Group 1 Verbs

For Group 1 verbs (うu-verbs).

Here, we replace the う u-vowel sound with its え e-vowel counterpart and add る ru.

BASE FORM	REPLACE WITH	ADD	FINAL FORM
飲む nomu (to drink)	+ め me (e-vowel)	+ る ru (can)	= 飲める nomeru (can drink)
持つ motsu (to hold)	+ て te (e-vowel)	+ る ru (can)	= 持てる moteru (can hold)

Group 2 Verbs

For Group 2 verbs (るru-verbs)

We simply swap out the る ru ending with られる rareru.

Examples:

BASE FORM	SWAP る WITH	FINAL FORM
食べる taberu (to eat)	+ られる rareru (can be)	= 食べられる taberareru (can eat)
出る deru (to leave)	+ られる rareru (can be)	= 出られる derareru (can leave)

Exceptions

Here a three exceptions you’ll want to remember:

する suru (to do)
→ 出来る dekiru (can do)

くる kuru (to come)
→ こられる korareru (can come)

ある aru (to be)
→ あり得る ariuru/arieiru (can exist/can be/possible)

NOTE || You might be surprised by how often you’ll have to describe the idea of being able to exist.
In practice, this is used to describe the possibilities of events or situations happening.

For some る ru-verbs, you might hear the ら ra taken out in daily conversation.

For example, 食べれる tabereru rather than 食べられる taberareru. This is actually grammatically incorrect, but widely accepted.

My advice is to only upgrade to using the shortened version when you’re certain you have the grammatically correct version down.

A few examples in context:

^{Karera wa yama o noboreru.}

彼らは山を登れる。

_{They can climb the mountain.}

^{Kanojo wa kuruma o unten dekiru.}

彼女は車を運転できる。

_{She can drive a car.}

View More Examples:

JAPANESE	ROMAJI	ENGLISH
あなたは新しい言語を学べる。	Anata wa atarashii gengo o manaberu.	You can learn a new language.
このコンピュータは高度な計算ができる。	Kono konpyu-ta wa koudo na keisan ga dekiru.	This computer can perform advanced calculations.
彼らは山を登れる。	Karera wa yama o noboreru.	They can climb the mountain.
彼女は車を運転できる。	Kanojo wa kuruma o unten dekiru.	She can drive a car.
子供たちは物語を書ける。	Kodomotachi wa monogatari o kakeru.	The children can write stories.
先生は科学を教えられる。	Sensei wa kagaku o oshierareru.	The teacher can teach science.
あの選手は高く跳べる。	Ano senshu wa takaku toberu.	That athlete can jump high.
彼は将来成功できるだろう。	Kare wa shourai seikou dekiru darou.	He can probably succeed in the future.

POTENTIAL WITH ことができる

ことができる koto ga dekiru

Another way to express potential is by adding ことができる to the dictionary form of a verb.

PATTERN

Verb + ことができる

For example, you can say 見られる mirareru for, “You can see it,” but you could also say 見ることができる miru koto ga dekiru.

Generally, the potential form is used more in conversational Japanese and this form is more for formal situations, but in reality there isn’t a huge amount of difference.

JAPANESE	ROMAJI	ENGLISH
彼はピアノを弾くことができます。	Kare wa piano o hiku koto ga dekimasu.	He can play the piano.
彼女は料理をすることができます。	Kanojo wa ryouri o suru koto ga dekimasu.	She can cook.

View More Examples:

japanese	romaji	english
私たちは泳ぐことができます。	Watashitachi wa oyogu koto ga dekimasu.	We can swim.
彼らは英語を話すことができます。	Karera wa eigo o hanasu koto ga dekimasu.	They can speak English.
あなたは車を運転することができます。	Anata wa kuruma o unten suru koto ga dekimasu.	You can drive a car.
子供たちは絵を描くことができます。	Kodomotachi wa e o kaku koto ga dekimasu.	The children can draw pictures.

SUMMARY

Here is a summary of all the ways to express potential in Japanese:

Add られる rareru to る ru-verbs, or an えe-ending plus るru for うu-verbs, to form the potential form.
Be careful of some important exceptions, like できる dekiru and こられる korareru.
Potential can also be expressed with ことができる koto ga dekiru. It is more for general ideas rather than personal things.
Be careful not to be too boastful when using the potential form when speaking to Japanese people.

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FAQs

How to express potential in Japanese?

Conveniently, there’s actually a potential form of conjugation of verbs in Japanese.

The potential form is used for personal-related things as well as general possibilities.

For Group 1 verbs (うu-verbs).

Here, we replace the う u-vowel sound with its え e-vowel counterpart and add る ru.

飲む nomu (to drink) becomes 飲める nomeru (can drink).

For Group 2 verbs(るru-verbs).

We simply swap out the る ru ending with られる rareru.

食べる taberu (to eat) becomes 食べられる taberareru (can eat).

Here a three exceptions you’ll want to remember:

する suru (to do)

→ 出来る dekiru (can do)

くる kuru (to come)

→ こられる korareru (can come)

ある aru (to be)

→ あり得る ariuru/arieiru (can exist/can be/possible)

How to use ことができる?

Another way to express potential is by adding ことができる koto ga dekiru to the dictionary form of a verb.

For example, you can say 見られる mirareru for, “You can see it,” but you could also say 見ることができる miru koto ga dekiru.

Examples:

彼はピアノを弾くことができます。

Kare wa piano o hiku koto ga dekimasu.

He can play the piano.

Are Japanese people assertive in what they can or cannot do?

Not really. Japanese culture places a strong emphasis on humility, and individuals may find it somewhat assertive or forward if someone openly declares, “I can do this” or “I can do that.”

In English, it’s quite common to say, “I can speak French,” even if your fluency level isn’t particularly high.

However, in Japan, it’s rare to hear someone say, “I speak English,” even if they are proficient.

This cultural nuance is crucial to consider when delving into the world of the potential form.

In situations where your response could be perceived as boastful, it might be wiser to express that you cannot perform a certain action, thus maintaining a sense of humility.

How do you say if in Japanese?

There is several ways to say if in Japanese, depending on the situation. To summarise:

ば is used for real or concrete situations.

たら is used for hypothetical or speculative situations.

なら is used for conjecture or assumption.

と is used for expressing natural consequence.

もし adds an extra air of uncertainty. Often combined with one of the above conditionals.

Can I learn Japanese online with LTL?

Absolutely! We offer online Japanese lessons on our Flexi Classes platform.

Choose your level, study topic and study time, and you’re good to go!

Check out our 7 Day Free Trial to start your learning journey.

Can I learn Japanese in Japan with LTL?

Yes you can!

We offer group and individual classes in Tokyo, for the duration of your choice.

You can even stay with a homestay family to really immerse yourself in the Japanese culture and discover a Japanese’s family lifestyle.

Japanese Grammar Bank

POTENTIAL IN JAPANESE