Japanese · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "できる" in Japanese?

Q: How do you pronounce できる in Japanese?

できる is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /de.ki.ɾɯ/. It means “to be able to / can.” de-ki-ru, three even beats — "deh," not "day," and a tapped r at the end.

de-ki-ru, three even beats — "deh," not "day," and a tapped r at the end.

できる /de.ki.ɾɯ/

dekiru

This is a flat, unaccented word: the pitch steps up after de and stays there for the rest of it. It's a good word for testing evenness because the three morae have three different vowels — if one of them sounds longer or louder, you'll hear it immediately.

Listen: できる

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Sound it out

de Dental d into a fixed short e. The tongue must not move during the vowel or you get the English "day" glide.

ki A light k with a slightly palatal colour before the i, then a short tense vowel. Between two other consonants this i can devoice in fast speech.

ru A single quick tongue contact, then flat-lipped u. This is the standard verb ending you've already met on 食べる, ある and する; the motion is identical every time.

Hear it in a sentence

私は料理ができます。

Watashi wa ryouri ga dekimasu.

I can cook.

Listen: 私は料理ができます。

Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.

私は料理ができます includes 料理 (ryo-o-ri), which packs a palatalised r-mora, a long vowel and a second tap into three beats. Say りょ as one gesture, not "ree-yo," hold the o, then tap again for the ri. That word is considerably harder than the verb that follows it.

Where English speakers slip

The habitual error is "day-KEE-roo": an English diphthong on the first vowel, stress on the middle, and a rounded final u with an English r. Flatten the e, level the emphasis, tap the tongue once, and unround the lips. Learners also stretch the ki because it's the semantic heart of the word — Japanese doesn't lengthen for meaning.