Meaning

Primary

To Be Able To Do

Alternatives

To Be Ready, To Be Made

Word Type

intransitive verb, ichidan verb

Explanation

When you exit and come, apparently it means to be able to do. I think of it like you're leaving a location () to do a task and then you come (来る) back after you did it. Perhaps you were waiting in a room training like someone from Dragonball. When you leave the room, you are ready to fight the enemy and win. You train in that room to be able to do whatever you need to do, and only leave and come back alive because you were able to do it.

This verb is really common and it has a wide range of meanings. It can also mean things like to be ready, for example a meal, and to be made, for example when saying what something is made from. It's commonly written in hiragana, but you'll see the kanji version too!

Reading

できる
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

The readings are a bit strange. They're both kun'yomi readings, where is and 来る is きる. This is different from the reading you originally learned with 来る (くる), though, so be careful. If you can remember that and remember the kun'yomi readings from the previous vocab, you should be able to learn this one's reading as well.

Context

Patterns of Use

Common Word Combinations

  • 赤ちゃんが出来る

    to be pregnant

    スポーツが出来る

    to be able to play sports, to be skilled at sports

    見ることが出来る

    to be able to see

Context Sentences

やっとJLPTN1にごうかくすることが出来ました。

I was finally able to pass JLPT N1.

ディナーが出来たよ。

Dinner's ready!

もちは米から出来る。

Mochi are made from rice.

Kanji Composition