Oyogeru is the Japanese potential verb for ‘can swim’, explained

What does “oyogeru” mean in Japanese?

Native speakers use oyogeru to mean ‘can swim’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this potential verb as it is sometimes used in Japanese movies, novels, manga, anime, and the like. 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 oyogeru more properly. Then, let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meanings of “oyogeru”
  • Example #1: how to say “can swim” in Japanese
• Oyogenai: the nai form of “oyogeru”
  • Example #2: how to say “cannot swim” in Japanese
• Oyogemasu: the masu form of “oyogeru”
  • Example #3: how to say “can swim” politely in Japanese
• Oyogeta: the ta form of “oyogeru”
  • Example #4: how to say “could swim” in Japanese
• Oyogete: the te form of “oyogeru”
  • Example #5: how to say “can swim and” in Japanese
• Oyogereba: the ba form of “oyogeru”
  • Example #6: how to say “if can swim” in Japanese
• Summary

Definition and meanings of “oyogeru”

Let me start with the definition and meanings of oyogeru.

• oyogeru – 泳げる (およげる) : a potential verb meaning ‘can swim’ or ‘to be able to swim’ in Japanese.

The definition and meanings are simple and clear. Then, let me explain how to use this potential verb through the example sentence below.

Example #1: how to say “can swim” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
• no – の : a case particle used after a noun or pronoun to make its possessive case. In the example, this is used after watashi to make its possessive case, watashi no, which means ‘my’ in Japanese.
• kodomo – 子供 (こども) : a noun meaning a ‘child’ or ‘kid’ 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 kodomo to make its plural form, kodomo tachi, which means ‘children’ in Japanese.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after watashi no kodomo tachi to make the subject in the sentence.
• mou – もう : an adverb meaning ‘already’ or such in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of oyogeru. When we want to mean ‘can swim’ in Japanese, this potential verb is a very good option.

So far, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of oyogeru 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 oyogenai.

Oyogenai: the nai form of “oyogeru”

Below are the definition and meanings of oyogenai.

• oyogenai – 泳げない (およげない) : the nai form of oyogeru, which means ‘cannot swim’ or ‘not to be able to swim’ in Japanese.

Grammatically, oyogenai consists of the following two parts:

• oyoge – 泳げ (およげ) : one conjugation of oyogeru. 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 oyogenai is literally the nai form of oyogeru and means ‘cannot swim’ or ‘not to be able to swim’ in Japanese. Then, let me explain how to use this nai form through the example sentence below.

Example #2: how to say “cannot swim” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• boku – 僕 (ぼく) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese. This is used mainly by boys and young males.
• zenzen – 全然 (ぜんぜん) : an adverb used in a negative sentence to emphasize its meaning. In the example, this is used to add the meaning of ‘at all’ in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of oyogenai. When we want to mean ‘cannot swim’ in Japanese, this nai form is a good option.

Oyogemasu: the masu form of “oyogeru”

Below are the definition and meanings of oyogemasu.

• oyogemasu – 泳げます (およげます) : the masu form of oyogeru, which politely means ‘can swim’ or ‘to be able to swim’ in Japanese.

Grammatically, oyogemasu consists of the following two parts:

• oyoge – 泳げ (およげ) : one conjugation of oyogeru. 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 Japanese masu form.

From these two parts, we can understand that oyogemasu is literally the masu form of oyogeru and politely means ‘can swim’ or ‘to be able to swim’ in Japanese. Let me explain how to use this form through the example sentence below.

Example #3: how to say “can swim” politely in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kono – この : a determiner used before a noun which refers to something close to the speaker. In the example, this is used before gakkou to mean ‘this school’ in Japanese.
• gakkou – 学校 (がっこう) : a noun meaning a ‘school’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
• no – の : a case particle used to join two nouns or noun equivalent words. Normally, the first one can work as a modifier to describe the second. In the example, this is used to join kono gakkou and seito. The formed phrase means ‘the students in this school’ in Japanese. Word orders in Japanese and English are different, but the role of this case particle is similar to those of some English prepositions.
• seito – 生徒 (せいと) : a noun meaning a ‘student’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.

This is a typical usage of oyogemasu. 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 swim’ politely in Japanese, this form is a good option.

Oyogeta: the ta form of “oyogeru”

Below are the definition and meanings of oyogeta.

• oyogeta – 泳げた (およげた) : the ta form of oyogeru, which means ‘could swim’, ‘was able to swim’, ‘were able to swim’, or such in Japanese.

Grammatically, oyogeta consists of the following two parts:

• oyoge – 泳げ (およげ) : one conjugation of oyogeru. 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 Japanese ta form.

From these two parts, we can understand that oyogeta is literally the ta form of oyogeru and means ‘could swim’, ‘was able to swim’, ‘were able to swim’, or such in Japanese. Let me explain how to use this form through the example sentence below.

Example #4: how to say “could swim” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
• hajimete – 初めて (はじめて) : an adverb meaning ‘for the first time’ in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of oyogeta. When we want to use the past tense form of oyogeru, this ta form is the best option.

Oyogete: the te form of “oyogeru”

Below are the definition and meanings of oyogete.

• oyogete – 泳げて (およげて) : the te form of oyogeru, which means ‘can swim’ or ‘to be able to swim’ in Japanese.

Grammatically, oyogete consists of the following two parts:

• oyoge – 泳げ (およげ) : one conjugation of oyogeru. 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 oyogete is literally the te form of oyogeru. In Japanese, te-formed words have some important roles. One of them is make smooth connections of words. So, oyogete is very useful when we want to use oyogeru 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 swim and” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• inu – 犬 (いぬ) : a noun meaning a ‘dog’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural.
• mogureru – 潜れる (もぐれる) : a potential verb meaning ‘can dive’ or ‘to be able to dive’ in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of oyogete. In this example, it has the smooth connection with mogureru. When we want to use oyogeru in front of another verb like this, its te form is very useful to make a smooth connection.

Oyogereba: the ba form of “oyogeru”

Lastly, let me explain the definition and meanings of oyogereba.

• oyogereba – 泳げれば (およげれば) : the ba form of oyogeru, which makes a conditional clause in a sentence with meaning ‘can swim’ or ‘to be able to swim’ in Japanese.

Grammatically, oyogereba consists of the following two parts:

• oyogere – 泳げれ (およげれ) : one conjugation of oyogeru. 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 oyogereba is literally the ba form of oyogeru. In Japanese, the ba forms of words can work as their conditional forms. So, we can use oyogereba to make a conditional clause in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘can swim’ or ‘to be able to swim’ in Japanese. Let me explain this usage through the example sentence below.

Example #6: how to say “if can swim” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• mogure – 潜れ (もぐれ) : one conjugation of the potential verb, mogureru, which means ‘can dive’ or ‘to be able to dive’ in Japanese.
• masu – ます : the same as used in oyogemasu. In the example, this is used after mogure to make it sound polite.

This is a typical usage of oyogereba. In this example, it works as the conditional clause which means ‘if you can swim’ in Japanese. When we want to make a conditional clause in a sentence with adding the meaning of ‘can swim’ or ‘to be able to swim’ in Japanese, this ba form is a good option.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained oyogeru and its major conjugations. And also, I’ve explained how to use them through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.

• oyogeru – 泳げる (およげる) : a potential verb meaning ‘can swim’ or ‘to be able to swim’ in Japanese.
• oyogenai – 泳げない (およげない) : the nai form of oyogeru, which means ‘cannot swim’ or ‘not to be able to swim’ in Japanese.
• oyogemasu – 泳げます (およげます) : the masu form of oyogeru, which politely means ‘can swim’ or ‘to be able to swim’ in Japanese.
• oyogeta – 泳げた (およげた) : the ta form of oyogeru, which means ‘could swim’, ‘was able to swim’, ‘were able to swim’, or such in Japanese.
• oyogete – 泳げて (およげて) : the te form of oyogeru, which means ‘can swim’ or ‘to be able to swim’ in Japanese.
• oyogereba – 泳げれば (およげれば) : the ba form of oyogeru, which makes a conditional clause in a sentence with meaning ‘can swim’ or ‘to be able to swim’ in Japanese.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.