modality N4 common casualpolitewritten
〜られる — potential られる: can / be able to
〜られる ・ られる
Meaning
- can ~ / be able to ~ — the potential for 一段 and irregular verbs
Key sentence
私は刺身が食べられる。
I can eat sashimi.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Ichidan verb (る-verb stem) | stem + られる | 食べる → 食べられる |
| Irregular verbs | する → できる; 来る → 来られる | 来る → 来られる |
Examples
朝早く起きられますか。
Can you get up early in the morning?
ここから富士山が見られる。
You can see Mt. Fuji from here.
明日なら来られると思う。
I think I can come if it's tomorrow.
When you can't use it
- What you can do is normally marked with が, not を: 刺身が食べられる (rather than 刺身を). The を-marked object of the plain verb shifts to が under the potential.
Easily confused with
〜られる (passive) Identical shape, different meaning. 食べられる = 'can eat' (potential) or 'is eaten' (passive) — context decides. The potential takes が for the object; the passive takes a に-agent. られない The plain negative: 食べられる → 食べられない ('cannot eat'). れる / 可能動詞 一段 verbs form the potential with られる; 五段 verbs use the dedicated potential verb instead (読む → 読める, not 読まれる).
Notes
- Casual speech often drops the ら (ら抜き言葉): 食べれる, 来れる, 見れる. Common in conversation but avoided in writing and formal speech.
See 〜られる in real sentences
Jengo shows 〜られる 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 Basic Japanese Grammar.