ことができるkoto ga dekiru“can; be able to”

ことができる means “can” or “be able to.” You take a verb in the dictionary form, turn it into a noun with こと, and say that this “doing” is possible: 日本語を読むことができます — “I can read Japanese.”

Japanese has two main ways to say “can”: ことができる and the potential form (読める, 食べられる). They mean the same thing, but ことができる is easier to build — no new conjugation to learn — and it sounds a little more formal. That is why you will see it on signs, in instructions and in polite explanations.

ことができる literally says “the act of doing X is possible” — a slightly formal, very clear way to say “can.”

What does ことができる mean?

できる on its own means “can do” or “is possible.” こと turns a verb into a noun, like “-ing” in English. Put together: 泳ぐこと (swimming) + ができる (is possible) = “can swim.”

ことができる covers three kinds of “can”:

• Ability: 私は泳ぐことができます。 — I can swim.
• Possibility because of circumstances: このカードで買い物することができます。 — You can shop with this card.
• Permission, especially in rules: 図書館では本を二週間借りることができます。 — At the library, you can borrow books for two weeks.

In the past, ことができた usually means “managed to” on a specific occasion: チケットを買うことができた — “I managed to get tickets.” In the negative, ことができない can mean either “unable” or “not allowed,” depending on context.

How to form ことができる

ことができる attaches to the dictionary form of any verb that describes a deliberate action.

Only できる conjugates. The verb before こと always stays in the dictionary form — never the ます form, past or te-form.

With する-nouns and skill nouns, you can drop することを and attach ができる straight to the noun: 運転することができる → 運転ができる, 日本語ができる, テニスができる. This short version is extremely common for skills.

The object keeps を: 漢字を書くことができる. (Compare the potential form, where が is common: 漢字が書ける.)

When is ことができる used?

• Signs, rules and instructions: ここでたばこを吸うことはできません. Official notices prefer ことができる because it sounds neutral and clear.
• Explaining what a service or product allows: このアプリでは漢字を練習することができます.
• Formal speech and writing: job interviews, presentations, essays. 英語を話すことができます sounds more careful than 英語が話せます.
• Verbs with awkward potential forms: for long する-verbs and newly learned verbs, ことができる is often the easier and clearer choice.

In casual conversation with friends, the potential form wins: 明日行ける? rather than 明日行くことができる? If you use ことができる with friends all the time, it will sound stiff, like reading from a manual.

ことができる example sentences

Notice the range: a personal skill, a service, a library rule, a polite “I can’t make it,” a one-time success, a museum sign. That spread from personal to official is typical of ことができる.

Nuance of ことができる

Compared with the potential form, ことができる spells the idea out. It has more syllables, so it sounds deliberate, polite and slightly distant. That is exactly what you want in a notice or a job interview, and exactly what you don’t want when chatting with a friend.

Swapping が for は or も adds contrast or emphasis, and this is where ことができる is often more useful than the potential form:

• 行くことはできますが、遅くなります。 — I can go, but I’ll be late.
• 日本語で説明することもできます。 — I can explain it in Japanese, too.

The past tense has a special nuance. ことができた on a single occasion suggests effort or luck: it was not guaranteed, but you managed. That is why it goes naturally with things like catching a train, getting tickets or passing an exam.

💡 Only for deliberate actions: ことができる needs a verb you can choose to do. Verbs like 分かる, ある, 見える and 降る can’t take it — they already describe something that happens to you.

ことができる vs られる

Both say “can.” The difference is formality, length, and how you build them.

In everyday speech, use the potential form (られる). In rules, instructions and careful polite speech, use ことができる. On the JLPT, you need to recognise both as “can” and convert between them.

Common mistakes with ことができる

Is ことができる on the JLPT?

In reading sections, look for ことができます and ことはできません in library, museum and apartment notices — the question usually asks what you are or aren’t allowed to do.

Practice questions for ことができる

Learning path for ことができる

Related grammar to review next

• られる (potential form) — the everyday, shorter way to say “can.”
• こと — the nominalizer that makes ことができる work.
• たことがある — looks similar, but means “have done before”; mixing them up is a classic error.
• ようになる — for abilities you gained over time.
• なかなか〜ない — for things you can’t manage easily, a softer “can’t.”

Learn ことができる with Hane

Hane drills ことができる and the potential form side by side, so 読むことができる and 読める both come to mind as “can read.” Practise N4 ability grammar in Hane.