Structure
Verb[ます]+ えない
Details
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Formal
使用域
硬い
About 〜得ない
得る is a る-Verb that has the meaning of 'to gain' or 'to acquire'. When attached to the conjunctive form of verbs, it takes on the nuance of 'for (A) to be possible', or 'able to (A)'. In addition to this, when 得る is combined with ない, that nuance switches to 'unable to (A)', or 'cannot (A)'.
- 我が社に出来得ないことなどありません。There is nothing that our company can't do.
- 警察官は信頼し得ないと思っている人たちが増えて来た。More people are coming to believe that police officers cannot be trusted.
Caution - 得る may be seen as either える or うる. The primary difference between the two being that うる is a relatively old form that is often seen only in literature, and almost never spoken. Despite this, うる is never used in the negative form with ない.
- そんな大きな災害は起こりえないと思います。I think that it's impossible for a disaster that big to happen. (Natural Japanese)
- そんな大きな災害は起こりうないと思います。I think that it's impossible for a disaster that big to happen. (Unnatural Japanese)
Fun-fact - 得る is far more formal/bookish than できる. However, there are several set phrases that are very common in daily speech that use this particular grammar point, such as あり得る 'possible', and あり得ない 'impossible'.
- まあ、それもあり得るかもしれないけど...Well, that is possible, but…
- 田中さんはすごく頭がいいので、不合格になるなんて絶対あり得ない。Tanaka-san is very smart, so it is absolutely impossible for him to fail.
Synonyms
Examples
一般の犯罪者は信頼し得ない人だ。
The average criminal is a person you can't trust.
彼の態度があり得ない。
His attitude is unbelievable.
私がその夢を叶えることはあり得ない。
It is not possible for me to achieve that dream.
本来、水と油は混ざり得ない。
Naturally, you cannot mix water and oil.
二次元のキャラクターは実際に存在し得ないからこそ、人々の目に魅力的に映るのだ。
It is precisely because two dimensional characters cannot exist in reality, that they fascinate people.
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~得る・~得ない ~うる・~えない ...can
MyJapaneseGrammar
を得ない in action
NihongoDayByDay
JLPT N2 文法: 得る・得ない
OobaSensei
Offline
Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide
Page 325
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