Possible (or not): 〜得る・〜得ない
Verb (stem) + 得る（うる／える）／得ない（えない）
Stem + 得る（うる／える）／得ない（えない）: “can happen / is impossible”, logical possibility, written. For a person's ability, stick with the potential.
In short
〜得る says something is possible in theory, that it can happen; 〜得ない, that it's impossible. It's not about a person's ability (that's the potential), but about logical possibility. In the dictionary form, it's read うる or える; all the other forms are read with え-. Written register, except for the spoken exclamation ありえない!
- 地震は、いつどこでも起こり得る。じしんは、いつどこでもおこりうる。An earthquake can happen anywhere, at any time.
- そんなことはあり得ない。そんなことはありえない。That's impossible.
- 考え得る方法は、すべて試した。かんがえうるほうほうは、すべてためした。I've tried every conceivable method.
The basics
得る (“to obtain”) placed after a verb stem means “can, be possible”. It's about what can happen or be conceived: an accident, a mistake, a solution. In the negative, 〜得ない rules a possibility out: “it's unthinkable, impossible”.
It's an objective possibility, not a talent: you don't say “I can swim” with 得る.
An earthquake can happen anywhere, at any time.
- noun
- other
- verb
- grammatical form
- 人間なら、だれでも間違いはあり得る。にんげんなら、だれでもまちがいはありうる。We're only human: anyone can make a mistake.
How to form and read it
Verb stem (the ます-form without ます) + 得る. The only difficulty is the reading: in the dictionary form, うる is more written, える more common in speech (ありうる／ありえる). All the other forms are read with え. With する: し得る (しうる).
| Form | Spelling | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| dictionary | あり得る | ありうる／ありえる |
| negative | あり得ない | ありえない |
| polite | あり得ます | ありえます |
| negative past | 予想し得なかった | よそうしえなかった |
| with する | し得る | しうる |
- この問題は、私たちの力で解決し得る。このもんだいは、わたしたちのちからでかいけつしうる。This problem can be solved with our own resources.
- えっ、まだ来てないの？ありえない！えっ、まだきてないの？ありえない！What, he's still not here? No way! (spoken)
Compare: potential, かもしれない
The potential (泳げる, 読める, N4) is about a person's ability or a practical possibility. 得る is about the logical possibility of an event, in written style. かもしれない (N5) is the speaker's guess: “maybe”. 起こり得る says the accident is possible in general; 起こるかもしれない, that it might well happen this time.
| Sentence | Nuance |
|---|---|
| 私は百メートル泳げる | personal ability |
| 事故は起こり得る | possible in principle (written) |
| 明日事故が起こるかもしれない | guess about a specific case |
- この機械なら、一時間に千個作れる。このきかいなら、いちじかんにせんこつくれる。With this machine, you can make a thousand an hour.
- 明日は雪が降るかもしれない。あしたはゆきがふるかもしれない。It might snow tomorrow.
Common mistakes
- Using it for a personal ability: “×私は泳ぎ得る”; you say 泳げる.
- Reading えない for every form but forgetting that the dictionary form is often read うる (起こりうる, ありうる).
- Mixing up あり得ない (“impossible”) and ありかねない (“quite possible, unfortunately”): nearly opposite meanings.
7 exercises on this point
Particles to choose, sentences to put back in order, translations: marked straight away, then reviewed at the right time. This JLPT N2 point is on the Aonami Line (Science and technology) of the Nagoya lines.