〜得る／〜得ない uru / enai

〜得る／〜得ない（uru / enai）means “can (possibly) / cannot (possibly)”. Added to a verb stem (ます-form minus ます), 〜得る expresses that something is conceivable or possible, and 〜得ない that it is inconceivable or impossible. Formation: V-ます（ますを取る）＋ 得る／得ない

can (possibly) / cannot (possibly)

N2

Formation

V-ます（ますを取る）＋ 得る／得ない

Explanation

Added to a verb stem (ます-form minus ます), 〜得る expresses that something is conceivable or possible, and 〜得ない that it is inconceivable or impossible. It states logical/theoretical possibility rather than ability, so it usually pairs with non-volitional verbs (考える, 起こる, ある…). 得る can be read うる or える; 得ない is read えない.

Examples

そんなことは決して起こり得ないと言い切れますか。
そんなことはけっしておこりえないといいきれますか。
Can you say for certain that such a thing could never possibly happen?
誰にでも失敗はあり得ることだ。
だれにでもしっぱいはありうることだ。
Failure is something that can happen to anyone.

Note

Formal/written. In the dictionary form both うる and える are heard (起こりうる/起こりえる), but the negative is always えない (起こりえない).

FAQ

〜得る／〜得ない — what does it mean and how is it used?

can (possibly) / cannot (possibly). Added to a verb stem (ます-form minus ます), 〜得る expresses that something is conceivable or possible, and 〜得ない that it is inconceivable or impossible. It states logical/theoretical possibility rather than ability, so it usually pairs with non-volitional verbs (考える, 起こる, ある…). 得る can be read うる or える; 得ない is read えない.

〜得る／〜得ない — how do you form it?

V-ます（ますを取る）＋ 得る／得ない

〜得る／〜得ない — any usage notes?

Formal/written. In the dictionary form both うる and える are heard (起こりうる/起こりえる), but the negative is always えない (起こりえない).

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