得る【える / うる】

得る（える／うる） is a suffix that attaches to the verb stem (連用形) to express that something is possible or can happen. It is the literary/formal equivalent of 〜～できる or 〜～られる (potential form) and is commonly found in written Japanese, formal speech, and set expressions.

Two readings: える and うる

This grammar point has two readings:

• える – the more common modern reading, used in most conjugated forms - うる – a classical reading that survives in certain forms and expressions

In the dictionary form, both える得るきごう（えるきごう） and える得るきごう（うるきごう） are acceptable. However, in the negative formえない得ない, only the える reading is used (えない, not ×うない). In the past tenseえた得た, only えた is used.

The form うる is most commonly seen in the dictionary/present form and in set phrases like ありうるあり得る（ありうる／ありえる）.

Formation

Attach 得る to the ます-stem (連用形) of a verb:

• おこる起こる → 起こり → 起こり得る (can occur) - かんがえる考える → 考え → 考え得る (can be conceived) - する → し → し得る (can do)

Usage

Expressing possibility – "can happen" / "is possible"

得る expresses that something is within the realm of possibility, often used for events or situations rather than personal ability.

Negative – ～得ない: "cannot possibly" / "impossible"

The negative form ～得ない（えない）expresses that something cannot possibly happen or is inconceivable.

Past tense – ～得た: "was able to" / "managed to"

Common expressions

• ありうるあり得る（ありうる／ありえる）– "possible, conceivable" – by far the most common form - ありえないあり得ない（ありえない）– "impossible, no way" – extremely common in casual speech as well

Nuance

Compared to the standard potential forms (〜～られる / 〜～できる), 得る sounds more formal and literary. It focuses on theoretical possibility ("it is conceivable that…") rather than personal ability ("I can do…"). In everyday conversation, ありうるあり得る and ありえないあり得ない are the main forms you will encounter; the other combinations are mostly seen in writing.