Japanese reference

できる

to be able to; can do

Regular · 17 form tables

Rows describe verb forms and levels of politeness. Honorific and humble forms are labeled separately. Strong commands appear under additional forms.

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Basic

できる: Non past
Person, form or usage	Form and meaning
Dictionary form	できる (dekiru)be able to
Polite, masu	できます (dekimasu)be able to

できる: Negative
Person, form or usage	Form and meaning
Negative, nai	できない (dekinai)not be able to
Polite negative	できません (dekimasen)not be able to

できる: Past
Person, form or usage	Form and meaning
Past, ta	できた (dekita)was able to
Polite past	できました (dekimashita)was able to

できる: Past negative
Person, form or usage	Form and meaning
Past negative	できなかった (dekinakatta)was not able to
Polite past negative	できませんでした (dekimasendeshita)was not able to

できる: Te form
Person, form or usage	Form and meaning
Te-form	できて (dekite)being able to (and then)
Polite te-form	できまして (dekimashite)being able to (and then)

できる: Te iru
Person, form or usage	Form and meaning
Te-iru: ongoing action / resulting state	できている (dekiteiru)be ready
Polite te-iru	できています (dekiteimasu)be ready

できる: Conditional, ba
Person, form or usage	Form and meaning
Conditional, ba	できれば (dekireba)if you are able to
Rare literary polite conditional	できますれば (dekimasureba)if you are able to (rare and literary). In ordinary polite conversation, use the plain conditional and make the main clause polite

できる: Conditional, tara
Person, form or usage	Form and meaning
Conditional, tara	できたら (dekitara)if you are able to
Polite conditional, tara	できましたら (dekimashitara)if you are able to

できる: Polite non past
Person, form or usage	Form and meaning
Polite non-past form	できます (dekimasu)be able to

できる: Polite negative
Person, form or usage	Form and meaning
Polite negative form	できません (dekimasen)not be able to

できる: Polite past
Person, form or usage	Form and meaning
Polite past form	できました (dekimashita)was able to

できる: Polite past negative
Person, form or usage	Form and meaning
Polite past negative form	できませんでした (dekimasendeshita)was not able to

できる: Completion or regret
Person, form or usage	Form and meaning
Completion or regret	できてしまう (dekiteshimau)be able to completely or regrettably
Polite completion or regret	できてしまいます (dekiteshimaimasu)be able to completely or regrettably

できる: Past experience
Person, form or usage	Form and meaning
Past experience	できたことがある (dekitakotogaaru)have the experience of: was able to
Polite past experience	できたことがあります (dekitakotogaarimasu)have the experience of: was able to

できる: Automatic result, to
Person, form or usage	Form and meaning
Automatic result, to	できると (dekiruto)whenever you be able to
Polite automatic result	できますと (dekimasuto)whenever you be able to

できる: Given that, nara
Person, form or usage	Form and meaning
Given that, nara	できるなら (dekirunara)if you mean to be able to

できる: Probability
Person, form or usage	Form and meaning
Probability	できるだろう (dekirudarou)probably be able to
Polite probability	できるでしょう (dekirudeshou)probably be able to

Forms from the Loquus reference. Only supplied forms are shown. Browse all Japanese entries.