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Formation: V-ます stem + 得る (うる or える) / 得ない (えない only); あり得る (ありうる／ありえる), あり得ない; 得ます, 得た (える conjugation)

〜得る says that something is possible, logically or in principle (起こり得る, 考え得る), and 〜得ない says it is impossible. It does not describe a person's skill: for 'I can swim', use 泳げる, not 泳ぎ得る. The dictionary form is read うる or える, and うる is especially common before nouns and in writing. The negative and the other conjugated forms always use え (えない, えます, えた). The pattern is formal and written, except that ありえない is everyday casual slang for 'no way, unbelievable'. Compare 〜かねない, which warns that a bad result could happen, and 〜ようがない, which means there is no method or means to do something. Note that the ざるを得ない in 〜ざるを得ない is a separate pattern meaning 'have no choice but to'.

Variants: うる、える、得ない、得ます、あり得る／あり得ない、なし得る

Examples

• 地震は日本のどこでも起こり得る災害だ。
  Earthquakes are a disaster that can happen anywhere in Japan.
• その感動は言葉では表現し得ないものだった。
  It was a feeling that words could not express.
• 彼がそんな嘘をつくなんて、ありえない。
  Him telling a lie like that? No way.

In real texts 0 occurrence(s)

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