Grammar Info

N2 Lesson 3: 3/23

兼(か)ねないMight, Could be, Capable of, Possible

Structure

Verb［ます］+ かねない
Noun + に + ​​かねない

Details

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    Standard

About かねない

The negative form of the る-Verb 兼(か)ねる 'to spread across' (usually 2 different activities or thought processes) is a grammar pattern that indicates a possibility of (A) happening, especially when it is something that the speaker themselves cannot control. 兼(か)ねない is often translated as 'might (A)', 'capable of (A)', or '(A) is a possibility'.

This structure will be seen connected to the ます-stem of verbs, or after nouns followed by に. Both the kanji and non-kanji forms may be used.

It is quite common to see 兼(か)ねない come after conditional phrases that include と, ば, たら, でも, and similar structures. This indicates that 'if (A) were to happen, (B) may also occur'.

Caution

While this grammar structure is most often used to highlight negative outcomes, it may also be used to indicate or desire or wish sarcastically.

  • ちゃんと毎日(まいにち)勉強(べんきょう)すれば、来週(らいしゅう)のテストは合格(ごうかく)できかねない。
    If I study everyday, I might do well on the test next week.

Fun-fact

As 兼(か)ねる means 'to spread across', in the negative, this expression can be thought of as similar to 'to not be a stretch' in English. It just indicates the action of (A) would not be a stretch of the ability or capacity of whoever or whatever is being discussed.

  • 彼女(かのじょ)はどんな病気(びょうき)でも治(なお)しかねない。
    It wouldn't be a stretch to say that she can cure any disease.

Antonyms

Related

Examples

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    この事(こと)をそのままにしていたら、摩擦(まさつ)をうみ兼(か)ねない。

    If you leave it at that, it might cause conflict.

    この犬(いぬ)に噛(か)まれたら、大(おお)怪我(けが)をしかねない。[する]

    If his dog bites you, it is capable of causing serious injury.

      危険(きけん)な運転(うんてん)をすれば、事故(じこ)が起(お)こり兼(か)ねない。

      If you drive dangerously, an accident might occur.

      この犬(いぬ)に噛(か)まれたら、大(おお)怪我(けが)をしかねない。

      If his dog bites you, it is capable of causing serious injury.

      この程度(ていど)の怪我(けが)でも、ウイルスに感染(かんせん)し兼(か)ねない。

      Even with this degree of injury, you might get a virus infection.

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        かねない – Grammar Discussion

        Most Recent Replies (6 in total)

        • Pushindawood

          Pushindawood

          might・could be
          capable of
          possible

          Structure

          • Verb[stem] + かねない
          • Noun + に + かねない

          [Used when some negative situation might be expected to happen, or when someone is capable of doing something bad.
          Often used as: A conditional B かねない。Where conditional is:と、ては、たら、でもetc.]

          View on Bunpro

        • Redglare

          Redglare

          Hi! I can’t make sense of how 兼ねる is supposed to mean “to spread across”. Neither Jisho or Weblio seem to suggest so. Any explanation for this?

          image695×159 16.9 KB
        • nekoyama

          nekoyama

          At the top it says “spread across (usually 2 different activities or thought processes)” so maybe they meant in the sense that it’s used in the を兼ねて grammar point? Still seems difficult to phrase that in a way that uses “spread across”…

          There’s one meaning that jisho and weblio don’t list, which is “to extend over a long period of time or over a long distance”. That one is closer, but as far as I know this meaning doesn’t exist in modern Japanese. In classical Japanese though, it was apparently possible to use 兼ねて like modern にわたって.

        • Redglare

          Redglare

          Yeah, I guess it kinda works as a mnemonic, but I’m not happy with being taught a meaning I can’t find in dictionaries.

          It feels a bit like the Koichi/Wanikani style “please use your imagination for this mnemonic and you’ll see the connection”. Didn’t expect this from Bunpro.

        • jakedesu2010

          jakedesu2010

          It appears that this grammar structure can come after a noun, however none of the example sentences show this structure, nor could I find any examples online. Does anyone have any good examples?

        • sergiop

          sergiop

          Not sure if you were referring to the を兼ねて grammar point referred above or the one with the negative. But if it is the first case, maybe the reason you were not able to find examples online is because the がてら grammar point that has the same meaning is used instead of it. See the highlight part in the Handbook:

        • sergiop

          sergiop

          In classical Japanese, what I found was a correspondence to あわせて or と同時に、

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