られる
- 1Ability: the subject has the capacity to perform the action.Ex. 1
- 2Circumstantial possibility: the action is possible or permitted in a given situation or place.Ex. 2
Conjugation: the result conjugates as a 一段動詞（起きられます, 起きられない）
Exception: 五段動詞 take their own potential form and サ変動詞 する becomes できる, not られる（書く → 書ける, する → できる）
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Neutral in register and used in speech and writing, often in polite ます form, to ask about or state ability and possibility. It covers both personal ability, such as getting up early, and what a situation allows, such as borrowing materials at a library. With potential verbs, the object particle を is often replaced by が. Unlike 得る, which states possibility in formal language, られる is the everyday way to say someone can do something.
Learners often hear ら抜き forms like 起きれる in casual speech; they are common but considered non-standard in careful writing.
Do not attach られる to 五段動詞; use their own potential forms, such as 書ける or 読める.
Note that the same られる shape also forms passive and honorific verbs, so context decides the meaning.
- 得るN2「得る」 is written-style language that attaches to the ます-form (e.g. 「起こり得る」) and expresses objective, logical possibility, including that something may happen; it is not used for personal concrete skills, so 'can swim' can only be said as 「泳げる」.
- 得ないN2「得ない」 is the written-style negative, attaching to the ます-form, and asserts that something is logically or objectively impossible; it often pairs with words like 「ある」 or 「考える」, while for everyday actions you use 「られない」, as in 「食べられない」.
- にくいN4「にくい」 does not express ability or inability but that something is hard to do or unlikely to happen; it attaches to the ます-stem and conjugates like an い-adjective. 「食べられない」 means 'can't eat' while 「食べにくい」 means 'awkward/hard to eat', so they cannot be swapped.
- がたいN3「がたい」 means 'hard to do', attaches to the ます-form, and is written-style and formal, whereas 「られる」 simply means 'can/may' in a neutral register. Its negative forms, such as 「信じられない」 and 「得られない」, are close in meaning to 「がたい」.
られる states that someone can do something, while 得る is a formal expression of possibility and 得ない denies that possibility. にくい and がたい do not mean "can" at all: にくい says an action is hard to do for any reason (言いにくい), while がたい is more formal and literary and suggests the action is nearly impossible (信じがたい, 見分けがたい).
