Japanese Potential Form: れる・られる & How to Say "Can" in Japanese

Conjugation Table — Group 2 (Ichidan) Verbs

For Group 2 verbs, drop the final る and add られる. The resulting form ends in られる for all ichidan verbs.

Conjugation Table — Group 1 (Godan) Verbs

For Group 1 verbs, change the final う-row sound to the corresponding え-row sound, then add る. For example: く→け、む→め、す→せ、つ→て、ぶ→べ、ぐ→げ、う→え、る→れ.

Group 3 Irregular Verbs & ら抜き言葉

Group 3 has only two verbs, and their potential forms are irregular. Additionally, colloquial Japanese often drops ら from G2 potential forms — a pattern known as ら抜き言葉.

Group 3 Irregular Potential

ら抜き言葉 — Colloquial G2 Potentials

Use ら抜き only in casual conversation. It is non-standard in formal writing and marked incorrect on the JLPT. One practical advantage: ら抜き forms (食べれる) are unambiguously potential, while the full form (食べられる) is ambiguous between potential and passive.

Potential vs できる — Suru Compound Verbs

For all する-compound verbs, the potential form is always できる — never られる or せる. Replace する with できる.

Particle Shift: を→が with Potential Verbs

When a verb is in potential form, the direct object often takes が instead of を. Both are grammatically acceptable, but が is often preferred in natural speech.

20-Verb Reference Table (Dictionary → Potential → Negative Potential)

Use this table for quick review of the most commonly tested verbs in their potential and negative potential forms.

Potential vs Passive — Why Group 2 Forms Look the Same

For Group 2 verbs, the potential and passive forms are written and pronounced identically. Only context tells you which meaning is intended.

The clearest signal of passive meaning is a に-marked agent (the person or thing that performed the action). 虫に = "by insects." If you see [noun]に[verb]られる where the noun is the doer, it is almost certainly passive, not potential.

5 Common Mistakes with the Potential Form

1. する → できる, not される or しられる. The potential of 勉強する is 勉強できる, never 勉強られる or 勉強しられる. できる is the unique irregular potential of する and must be memorized separately.
2. Double-conjugating G2 verbs. Some learners see that 食べる ends in る and add られる to the already-conjugated form, producing 食べられられる. The correct form is simply 食べられる — drop る, add られる, done.
3. Confusing potential and passive for G2 verbs. 食べられる means both "can eat" and "is eaten." Always check for a に-marked agent to identify passive. Without one, and with a が-marked object, it is likely potential.
4. Forgetting that が is natural with potential verbs. After conjugating to potential, learners sometimes keep を out of habit. While を is not wrong, 日本語が話せる is more natural than 日本語を話せる in most contexts.
5. Using ら抜き forms (食べれる) on formal tests. These colloquial forms are everywhere in spoken Japanese but are non-standard in writing. On the JLPT, always use the full form: 食べられる, 見られる.

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