# ことができる vs える



## AmaryllisBunny

Is there a difference between these two, whether it is politeness, meaning, or other aspect?

Dekiru construction vs Potential Mood
E.g.:
行く事が出来る　vs　行ける
為る事が出来る　vs　為せる
来る事が出来る　vs　来れる

There are some things for example, 「ピアノができる」 which is a shortened version.

日本語を話せます。　。。。　日本語の/を話す事が出来ます。


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## karlalou

To me 〜することができる sounds more caring, while 〜できる is just common way of saying.

To be polite, です、ます is better: 〜することができます and 〜できます, and these are also commonly used.


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## AmaryllisBunny

So 為る事が出来ます　vs　為れます　mean the same thing, but the form with "できる" is much more common?

I am aware that 丁寧語 or ます/です is more polite...


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## wind-sky-wind

Verbs like "行ける" and "話せる" are called "可能動詞" potential verbs.
They are treated as one word, not "行く" plus "える" or "話す" plus "える."

Originally, "...れる" or "...られる" is used to express "ability" ...できる.
They, however, also express "passive voice," "honorifics," and "spontaneity."
So, today, potential verbs are used so often to express "ability."

Actually, potential verbs consist of "go-dan" verbs plus "...eru."
So, "来れる," which is based on "来る" ka-hen, or "見れる," which is based on "見る" ichi-dan, is not correct, originally.
This is called "ら抜き言葉," because "ら" is subtracted from "来られる" or "見られる."

Still, "見られる" sounds like "passive" or "honorific," so, "見れる" is used very often, especially in daily conversation.

PS:
＞為る事が出来る　vs　為れる
"為る, " which is better written in kana, is "sa-hen" verb, so you can't make "potential verb" or "ら抜き."
You can just say, "できる," as in "勉強できる" or "愛することができる."


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## karlalou

AmaryllisBunny said:


> So 為る事が出来ます　vs　為れます　mean the same thing, but the form with "できる" is much more common?



Actually, I think you meant to say 為*す*事が出来ます and 為*せ*ます, but these sounds old or formal or rigid. 
成*す*事が出来ます and 成*せ*ます sound more accessible.
We usually say them 〜することができます and the simpler form becomes 〜できます

Oh! I didn't know until now, but the dictionary says 為る can be read as する！
But then if you meant them to be read this way 為れます cannot work. There's no Japanese word すれます. That should be... I think it ends up 〜できます. Oh, it's getting confusing, isn't it!


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## wind-sky-wind

Anyway, this story begins just with "...（ら）れる", "potential verbs" and "ら抜き."


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## AmaryllisBunny

So which verbs do not have the _potential mood_? Because you stated that 「する」can't have a potential form... or can it? させる.

お寿司を食べられます。
お寿司を食べる事が出来ます。In this example, can you also say お寿司の食べる事が出来ます using the particle 「の」 instead of 「を」？


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## frequency

AmaryllisBunny said:


> お寿司を食べられます。
> お寿司を食べる事が出来ます。



These two are correct. Either is okay. Even お寿司を食べれます is okay. _（上の二つの間で何か特別に違いってあるの？）_
See when you say:
私は食べられます。
This is two-way. 1) I can eat (sth). Yes this is potentiality/capability. 2) I am eaten (by sb or sth). This is the passive.
You want to avoid sounding like 2 because it's not a good thing. You want to say 1 another way:
私は食べれます。
This is also the potentiality/capability. (Informally? I can't judge that.)



AmaryllisBunny said:


> In this example, can you also say お寿司の食べる事が出来ます using the particle 「の」 instead of 「を」？


Aw it's sorry to say but no.


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## karlalou

I recommend Japanese learners remember to say 食べられます but not 食べれます.
The original posters question is not about ら抜き.

I am not an expert on this, but it's widely considered that 食べられます is correct but not 食べれます, while 行けれる is considered another common mistake. I thought these mistakes are called ら抜き (in case of 行けれる, the problem is not about omission but addition of れ though).


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## karlalou

AmaryllisBunny said:


> So which verbs do not have the _potential mood_? Because you stated that 「する」can't have a potential form... or can it? させる.



I think the potential mood for「する」becomes 「できる」. We don't say すれる it just doesn't work. It will become something else. It will be 刷れる (meaning printable, able to print) or 擦れる(chafe or graze) which is not potential mood.



> お寿司を食べられます。
> お寿司を食べる事が出来ます。In this example, can you also say お寿司の食べる事が出来ます using the particle 「の」 instead of 「を」？



No, you can't use「の」in this case.


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## AmaryllisBunny

Between the 漢字 and the かな, which is more common for できる？ As well as すし？

Thank you


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## frequency

Ah, hiragana can give a soft visual effect. I'm serious lol.
See 食べることができます。食べることが出来ます。
Well, kanji 出来ます looks a bit heavier, don't you think?
すし and 寿司? Either is okay, but I think using kanji is better.

If you want to give soft, easy, and simple appearance to your texts, using hiragana is good. But texts using too much hiragana look difficult to read and a bit troublesome.
For this reason manuals sometimes avoid using too much kanji.


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## spu001

I think that Frequency elucidated how Japanese people select characters out of 3 options(hiragana, katakana and kanji) and it's well worthy of being noted by learners. But AB's question is which is more common できる or 出来る/すし or 寿司. I'll answer this question.
Between the options between できる and 出来る, できる is much more common than 出来る because 出来る is 'ateji' : a way of writing in which you use kanji that represent no meanings of a word whereas kanji usually contains meanings of a word, e.g. 鮨(sushi) contains another kanji '魚(fish)' in it, that represents that 鮨(sushi) has something to do with 魚(fish) but 出(out) and 来(come) has nothing to do with the word ’できる.')
And as for between すし and 寿司, 寿司 is more common, although '寿司' is another ateji word it has a good meaning, 寿 means 'long life' or 'congratulations' and 司 means 'manage,' so, literally 寿司 is a 'manager of long life.' I think that's why sushi restaurants prefer the kanji '寿司' over '鮨' and 'すし.'

Hope this helps.
Spu


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