〜得る/得ない

Can/cannot

Level 4Sounds Like eru/enai

〜得る（うる/える） is used to say that something is 'possible' or 'conceivable' from a logical or objective standpoint. Its negative form, 〜得ない（えない）, means something is 'impossible' or 'unthinkable'.

How It Works

This pattern is primarily used in formal, academic, or written contexts to discuss theoretical possibilities.

1. Formation:
It attaches to the stem (pre-ます form) of a verb.

  • 行く（いく） → 行き（いき） + 得る
  • ある → あり + 得る

2. Conjugation Rules:
The dictionary form can be read as either うる or える. In modern Japanese, conjugations typically use the 「え」 stem, though the classical conditional form うれば is still seen in formal writing:

  • Negative: 〜得ない（えない） [Correct] / 〜得ない（うない） [Incorrect]
  • Past: 〜得た（えた） [Correct] / 〜得た（うた） [Incorrect]
  • Polite: 〜得ます（えます） [Correct] / 〜得ます（うます） [Incorrect]

3. The Attributive Rule:
When the verb modifies a noun, the reading うる is the standard choice. For example, 起こりうる事故（おこりうるじこ - an accident that could happen）.

4. Common Set Phrases:
While many verbs can use this pattern, ありうる (possible/likely) and 考えうる (conceivable/thinkable) are the most common and natural forms used in the dictionary form.

5. Nuance:
While potential verbs like 読める（よめる） describe a person's skill, 〜得る describes the nature of the world. For example, 'Accidents can happen' uses 〜得る because it's a logical possibility, not an ability of the accident.

Examples (4)

  1. 人間（にんげん）は誰（だれ）でも間違（まちが）いを犯（おか）し得る。

    Any human being is capable of making a mistake.

    Word by Word: Human as-for anyone even mistake (object) commit-can.

    This expresses the objective truth that it is possible for any person to make a error.

  2. それは現在（げんざい）の科学（かがく）では説明（せつめい）し得ない現象（げんしょう）だ。

    That is a phenomenon that cannot be explained by modern science.

    Word by Word: That as-for current science by-as-for explain-cannot phenomenon is.

    Using 〜得ない here indicates that explanation is theoretically impossible given current knowledge.

  3. 事故（じこ）はいつでもどこでも起（お）こり得る。

    Accidents can happen anytime, anywhere.

    Word by Word: Accidents as-for anytime anywhere occur-can.

    This describes the objective possibility of an event occurring regardless of specific intent.

  4. そんなことはあり得ない！

    That's impossible! / No way!

    Word by Word: Such thing as-for exist-cannot!

    While the pattern is usually formal, 'あり得ない' is a very common idiomatic phrase used in daily life to express disbelief.

Common Mistakes

  • Using it to describe personal ability.

    私は漢字を書き得る。
    私は漢字が書ける。

    〜得る is for objective possibility. For personal skills like writing Kanji, use the standard potential form.

  • Incorrect negative conjugation.

    そんなことはあり得ない（うない）。
    そんなことはあり得ない（えない）。

    Even if you use the 「うる」 reading for the dictionary form, the negative form must always be 「えない」.

  • Using the wrong reading when modifying a noun.

    起こり得る（える）事故。
    起こり得る（うる）事故。

    When this pattern is used to modify a noun (attributive form), the reading 「うる」 is strongly preferred over 「える」.

How It Connects

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〜得る/得ないLevel 4Can/cannot

Learn This First

The pattern 〜得る (uru/eru) and its negative form 〜得ない (enai) are used to express the objective possibility of something occurring. To use this pattern, you must know how to identify the verb stem (ます-form stem). It is also helpful to understand the standard potential form to recognize that 〜得る is specifically used for situational possibilities rather than personal skills.

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Words in This Pattern

得ない