modality N4 common casualpolitewritten
られない — cannot ~
られない
Meaning
- cannot ~ / be unable to ~ — the negative potential for 一段 and irregular verbs
Key sentence
辛すぎて食べられない。
It's too spicy — I can't eat it.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Ichidan verb (potential stem) | stem + られない | 起きる → 起きられない |
Examples
忙しくて、なかなか寝られない。
I'm so busy I can hardly sleep.
約束の時間までに来られないかもしれない。
I might not be able to make it by the appointed time.
信じられない！本当に当たったの？
I can't believe it! Did I really win?
Easily confused with
Notes
- Like the affirmative, casual speech drops the ら: 食べれない, 来れない, 寝れない (ら抜き言葉).
See られない in real sentences
Jengo shows られない the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar.