What does “eraberu” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers use eraberu often to mean ‘can choose’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this potential verb as it is sometimes used in Japanese conversations. In this blog post, however, I’m explaining it together with its major conjugations. And also, I’m explaining how to use them through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners use eraberu more properly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
- Definition and meanings of “eraberu”
- Erabenai: the nai form of “eraberu”
- Erabemasu: the masu form of “eraberu”
- Erabeta: the ta form of “eraberu”
- Erabete: the te form of “eraberu”
- Erabereba: the ba form of “eraberu”
- Summary
Definition and meanings of “eraberu”
Let me start with the definition and meanings of eraberu.
- eraberu – 選べる (えらべる) : a potential verb used to mean ‘can choose’, ‘can select’, ‘can pick’, or such in Japanese.
The definition and meanings are not that difficult, I think. The meanings seem to be based on similar concepts.
Then, let me explain how to use this potential verb through the example sentence below.
Example #1: how to say “can choose” in Japanese
watashi tachi wa buki wo eraberu – 私達は武器を選べる (わたしたちはぶきをえらべる)
We can choose our weapons.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
- tachi – 達 (たち) : a suffix used after a noun or pronoun to make its plural form. In the example, this is used after watashi to make its plural form, watashi tachi, which means ‘we’ in Japanese.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after watashi tachi to make the subject in the sentence.
- buki – 武器 (ぶき) : a noun meaning a ‘weapon’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Learn more about Japanese plural.
- wo – を : a case particle used to make the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after buki to make the object in the sentence.
This is a typical usage of eraberu. In this example, it works together with the case particle, wo, to have the object. When we want to mean ‘can choose’ in Japanese, anyway, this potential verb is a very good option.
So far, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of eraberu and how to use it through the example sentence. In the rest part of this blog post, I’m explaining its major conjugations. The first one is erabenai.
Erabenai: the nai form of “eraberu”
Below are the definition and meanings of erabenai.
- erabenai – 選べない (えらべない) : the nai form of eraberu, which means ‘cannot choose’, ‘cannot select’, ‘cannot pick’, or such in Japanese.
Grammatically, erabenai consists of the following two parts:
- erabe – 選べ (えらべ) : one conjugation of eraberu. This can have a smooth connection with nai.
- nai – ない : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to deny its meaning. Word orders in Japanese and English are different, but the role of this auxiliary verb is very similar to that of not.
From these two parts, we can understand that erabenai is literally the nai form of eraberu and means ‘cannot choose’, ‘cannot select’, ‘cannot pick’, or such in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use this nai form through the example sentence below.
Example #2: how to say “cannot choose” in Japanese
kuruma wa erabenai – 車は選べない (くるまはえらべない)
We cannot choose a car.
Below is the new word used in the example sentence.
- kuruma – 車 (くるま) : a noun meaning a ‘car’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
This is a typical usage of erabenai. When we want to mean ‘cannot choose’ in Japanese, this nai form is a good option.
Erabemasu: the masu form of “eraberu”
Below are the definition and meanings of erabemasu.
- erabemasu – 選べます (えらべます) : the masu form of eraberu, which politely means ‘can choose’, ‘can select’, ‘can pick’, or such in Japanese.
Grammatically, erabemasu consists of the following two parts:
- erabe – 選べ (えらべ) : one conjugation of eraberu. This can have a smooth connection with masu.
- masu – ます : an auxiliary verb used after a verb to make it polite. Probably, this is well known as a part of the Japanese masu form.
From these two parts, we can understand that erabemasu is literally the masu form of eraberu and politely means ‘can choose’, ‘can select’, ‘can pick’, or such in Japanese. Let me explain how to use this form through the example sentence below.
Example #3: how to say “can choose” politely in Japanese
boku tachi wa mada mirai wo erabemasu – 僕達はまだ未来を選べます (ぼくたちはまだみらいをえらべます)
We can still choose a future.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- boku – 僕 (ぼく) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese. In the example, this works together with tachi to mean ‘we’ in Japanese.
- mada – まだ : an adverb meaning ‘still’ in Japanese.
- mirai – 未来 (みらい) : a noun meaning a ‘future’ in Japanese.
This is a typical usage of erabemasu. Its politeness has not been reflected in the English sentence, but the Japanese sentence sounds polite thanks to the masu form. When we want to mean ‘can choose’ politely in Japanese, this form is a good option.
Erabeta: the ta form of “eraberu”
Below are the definition and meanings of erabeta.
- erabeta – 選べた (えらべた) : the ta form of eraberu, which means ‘could choose’, ‘could select’, ‘could pick’, or such in Japanese.
Grammatically, erabeta consists of the following two parts:
- erabe – 選べ (えらべ) : one conjugation of eraberu. This can have a smooth connection with ta.
- ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. Probably, this is well known as a part of the Japanese ta form.
From these two parts, we can understand that erabeta is literally the ta form of eraberu and means ‘could choose’, ‘could select’, ‘could pick’, or such in Japanese. Let me explain how to use this form through the example sentence below.
Example #4: how to say “could choose” in Japanese
kanojo wa sukina shashin wo erabeta – 彼女は好きな写真を選べた (かのじょはすきなしゃしんをえらべた)
She could choose favorite pictures.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
- sukina – 好きな (すきな) : a na-adjective meaning ‘favorite’ in Japanese.
- shashin – 写真 (しゃしん) : a noun meaning a ‘picture’ or ‘photo’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
This is a typical usage of erabeta. When we want to use the past tense form of eraberu, this ta form is the best option.
Erabete: the te form of “eraberu”
Below are the definition and meanings of erabete.
- erabete – 選べて (えらべて) : the te form of eraberu, which means ‘can choose’, ‘can select’, ‘can pick’, or such in Japanese.
Grammatically, erabete consists of the following two parts:
- erabe – 選べ (えらべ) : one conjugation of eraberu. This can have a smooth connection with te.
- te – て : a conjunctive particle used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its te form.
From these two parts, we can understand that erabete is literally the te form of eraberu. In Japanese, te-formed words have some important roles. One of them is make smooth connections of words. So, erabete is very useful when we want to use eraberu in front of another verb, an adjective, or an auxiliary verb with a smooth connection. Let me explain this usage through the example sentence below.
Example #5: how to say “can choose and” in Japanese
anata wa koko de shigoto ga erabete kasegeru – あなたはここで仕事が選べて稼げる (あなたはここでしごとがえらべてかせげる)
You can choose a job here and earn money.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- anata – あなた : a pronoun meaning ‘you’ in Japanese.
- koko – ここ : a demonstrative pronoun used to refer to a place close to the speaker.
- de – で : a case particle used to say where someone does something. In the example, this is used after koko to mean ‘here’ in Japanese.
- shigoto – 仕事 (しごと) : a noun meaning a ‘job’ or ‘work’ in Japanese.
- ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after shigoto to make the object in the sentence.
- kasegeru – 稼げる (かせげる) : a potential verb meaning ‘can earn (money)’ or ‘can make (money)’ in Japanese.
This is a typical usage of erabete. In this example, it has the smooth connection with kasegeru. When we want to use eraberu in front of another verb like this, its te form is very useful to make a smooth connection.
Erabereba: the ba form of “eraberu”
Lastly, let me explain the definition and meanings of erabereba.
- erabereba – 選べれば (えらべれば) : the ba form of eraberu, which makes a conditional clause in a sentence with meaning ‘can choose’, ‘can select’, ‘can pick’, or such in Japanese.
Grammatically, erabereba consists of the following two parts:
- erabere – 選べれ (えらべれ) : one conjugation of eraberu. This can have a smooth connection with ba.
- ba – ば : a conjunctive particle used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its ba form.
From these two parts, we can understand that erabereba is literally the ba form of eraberu. In Japanese, the ba forms of words can work as their conditional forms. So, we can use erabereba to make a conditional clause in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘can choose’, ‘can select’, ‘can pick’, or such in Japanese. Then, let me explain this usage through the example sentence below.
Example #6: how to say “if can choose” in Japanese
buki wo erabereba, mirai wo eraberu – 武器を選べれば、未来を選べる (ぶきをえらべれば、みらいをえらべる)
If you can choose your weapon, you can choose your future.
This is a typical usage of erabereba. In this example, it works as a part of the conditional clause, buki wo erabereba, which means ‘if you can choose your weapon’ in Japanese. When we want to make a conditional clause in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘can choose’ in Japanese, this ba form is a good option.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained eraberu and its major conjugations. And also, I’ve explained how to use them through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- eraberu – 選べる (えらべる) : a potential verb used to mean ‘can choose’, ‘can select’, ‘can pick’, or such in Japanese.
- erabenai – 選べない (えらべない) : the nai form of eraberu, which means ‘cannot choose’, ‘cannot select’, ‘cannot pick’, or such in Japanese.
- erabemasu – 選べます (えらべます) : the masu form of eraberu, which politely means ‘can choose’, ‘can select’, ‘can pick’, or such in Japanese.
- erabeta – 選べた (えらべた) : the ta form of eraberu, which means ‘could choose’, ‘could select’, ‘could pick’, or such in Japanese.
- erabete – 選べて (えらべて) : the te form of eraberu, which means ‘can choose’, ‘can select’, ‘can pick’, or such in Japanese.
- erabereba – 選べれば (えらべれば) : the ba form of eraberu, which makes a conditional clause in a sentence with meaning ‘can choose’, ‘can select’, ‘can pick’, or such in Japanese.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
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