Home › Japanese › Glossary › What can you do?
Japanese vocabulary · Beginner
How do you say "What can you do?" in Japanese?
何ができますか？
nani ga dekimasu ka ?
In Japanese, "What can you do?" is 何ができますか？ (nani ga dekimasu ka ?).
Listen to the pronunciation:
Free Japanese learning game. No sign-up, play in browser. See all games
Pronunciation
何ができますか？ is written using kanji. Romanised as nani ga dekimasu ka ?, it sounds roughly like "nah-nee-gah-deh-kee-mah-soo-kah" to an English ear.
Writing and usage
Dekiru (できる) means to be able to do or to be capable. In the question nani ga dekimasu ka, dekiru expresses ability or possibility.
Example sentence
「何ができますか？」は自己紹介でよく使う質問です。
'Nani ga dekimasu ka?' wa jiko shoukai de yoku tsukau shitsumon desu.
'What can you do?' is a question often used when introducing yourself.
Test your Japanese knowledge in our free browser games.
How to remember 何ができますか？
Dekiru sounds like a door-opening word. Ability flows out once the door of possibility swings open.
Related words
- what is the weather on tuesday? 火曜日の天気は何ですか？ kayōbi no tenki wa nan desu ka ？
- what is the temperature? 気温は何度ですか？ kion wa nan dodesu ka ？
- what do you dislike? 何が嫌いですか？ nani ga kirai desu ka ？
- what is your job? 仕事は何ですか？ shigoto wa nan desu ka ？
- what is the weather on monday? 月曜日の天気は何ですか？ getsuyōbi no tenki wa nan desu ka ？
- what is the weather on friday? 金曜日の天気は何ですか？ kinyōbi no tenki wa nan desu ka ？
- where are you from? 出身地はどこですか？ shusshinchi wa doko desu ka ？
- what do you like? 何が好きですか？ nani ga suki desu ka ？
- what is the temperature on friday? 金曜日の気温は何度ですか？ kinyōbi no kion wa nan dodesu ka ？
Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.
Questions about 何ができますか？
How do you pronounce 何ができますか?
何ができますか？ is romanised as nani ga dekimasu ka ?. Say it roughly like "nah-nee-gah-deh-kee-mah-soo-kah" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.
Is 何ができますか formal or casual?
何ができますか？ is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.
How is 何ができますか written in Japanese?
何ができますか？ is written using kanji. Dekiru (できる) means to be able to do or to be capable.
Where can I practice Japanese words for free?
You can play free Japanese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, with no sign-up needed. Every word in the Japanese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.
"What can you do?" in other languages
- Korean 무엇을 할 수 있어요? (mueoseul hal su itseoyo?)
- Chinese 你能做什么? (nǐ néng zuò shén me ?)
- Spanish ¿Qué puedes hacer?
- Spanish (Latin America) ¿Qué puedes hacer?
- French Qu'est-ce que tu peux faire ?
- German Was kannst du tun?
- Italian Cosa sai fare?
- Russian Что ты умеешь делать? (čto ty umeešʹ delatʹ?)
- Greek Τι μπορείς να κάνεις; (ti boris na kanis)
- Arabic أنت ممكن تعمل إيه؟ (inta mumkin 'tiAmil 'ieeh)
Curated by Jack Ratcliffe
This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Japanese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation.
Noun Town on PC, Mac & VR
These browser games are just a taste. The full Noun Town is a bigger, deeper 3D world: explore a living town, talk to its characters and learn thousands of words in immersive VR, Mixed Reality, or on your computer. It's an award-winning game with 590+ reviews on Steam and 12 languages to learn.
See the full game ▶Spot an error? Email us at contact@noun.town