English–Japanese
“be able to” in Japanese
Japanese
Pronunciation
Romajidekiru
Example
私は自転車に乗ることができます。watashi wa ji ten sha ni no ru ko to ga de ki ma su
I can ride a bicycle.
How to say “be able to” in Japanese
“Be able to” in Japanese is できる (dekiru). できる can also mean “can”.
Describes an action or situation as within the range of what a person or circumstance can make happen.
Example sentences with できる
私は泳ぐことができます。watashi wa oyo gu ko to ga de ki ma su
I can swim.
この店では、カードで支払うことができます。ko no mise de wa kā do de shi hara u ko to ga de ki ma su
You can pay by card at this store.
Tips for using できる
- The negative form できない (dekinai) is a frequent conversational way to say that an action cannot be done, so learners meet できる (dekiru) and できない (dekinai) as a useful pair.