Structure
Examples:
[る1]Verb → 見る + られる(1)
[る5]Verb → 座る + れる
[う]Verb → 歌う + える
[く]Verb → 歩く + ける
[す]Verb → 話す + せる
[つ]Verb → 打つ + てる
[ぬ]Verb → 死ぬ + ねる
[ぶ]Verb → 飛ぶ + べる
[む]Verb → 休む + める
[ぐ]Verb → 泳ぐ + げる
Exceptions:
する → できる
(1) 見れる、ら抜き言葉 (casual). Some may consider it not grammatical.
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Standard
About れる・られる (Potential)
In addition to 'passive' verbs, れる and られる (the auxiliary verbs) are used when expressing possibility '可能'.
られる will be attached to the base form of る-Verbs (the form after る has been removed). Note also that れる and られる themselves behave like standard る-Verbs, so can be conjugated into a variety of different tenses in the same way as a standard verb.
A common sight in modern Japanese is words where the ら may be removed, 'ラ抜き言葉', and れる may be used by itself. However, this is not technically correct Japanese, and may cause confusion in cases where ら is required (with る-Verbs and くる, when られる is expressing 'passivity', 'respect', or 'spontaneous occurrence').
For う-Verbs, they will behave a little differently. Instead of the final kana of the verb changing to an あ sound, and then adding れる (as would be the case with passive verbs), the final kana of the verb will change to an え sound (る will become れ, う will become え, す will become せ, etc.) before adding る.
Interestingly, する verbs do not have a 'potential' form, and the verb できる will be used in its place.
Caution
ことができる and られる (when used in its 'potential' meaning) have exactly the same nuance. However, many people consider ことができる to be slightly more polite.
Fun Fact
When using the potential form, either を or が may be used to mark the 'object'. You will need to be careful though, as this does not apply to できる, which may only ever use が.
- やっとシャワーを浴びられる!I can finally take a shower!
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あなたは何が食べられるの?What can you eat?
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トムは日本語とフランス語と英語を話すことができる。Tom is able to speak Japanese, French, and English.
Synonyms
得る・得る
Is able to, Can, Possible
Not studied yet
Verb[れる・られる]
Was done to ~ by ~, Done without consent, Done to one's dismay
Not studied yet
ことができる
Can, Be able to
Not studied yet
聞こえる
To be audible, To sound (like), (Can) hear, To be heard
Not studied yet
見える
To be visible, To seem, To be in sight
Not studied yet
Examples
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あの山が見られますか。
Can you see that mountain over there?
彼女の話は信じられない。
I cannot believe her story.
10分待てますか。
Can you wait 10 minutes?
見つけられなくてすみませんでした。
I am sorry that I was unable to find it.
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Potential verb conjugation
Kanji Link
Japanese Potential Form:
Wasabi
ら抜き(ra-nuki)
Self-Taught Japanese
CAN /potential form(られる/ことができる)
Japanese Ammo
Offline
Genki II 2nd Edition
Page 30
みんなの日本語 II
Page 18 [CH 27]
[DBJG] A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar
Page 8 & 370
Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide
Page 123
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れる・られる (Potential) – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (49 in total)
kush
I think it is used to connect the ない to the すみません because there should be a て before すみません.
Hopefully this is useful to youEdBunpro
@Glaciem52 It appears to be following the formula outlined in the て+すみません lessons, which can be found here, in particular the end of the first paragraph which explains the 2 different ‘meanings’ that て can carry in cases like this.
Glaciem52
Thank you so much !! I understand it now
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