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Japanese vocabulary · Beginner
How do you say "What can't you do?" in Japanese?
できないことは何ですか？
dekinai koto wa nan desu ka ?
In Japanese, "What can't you do?" is できないことは何ですか？ (dekinai koto wa nan desu ka ?).
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Pronunciation
できないことは何ですか？ is written using kanji. Romanised as dekinai koto wa nan desu ka ?, it sounds roughly like "deh-kee-nah-ee-koh-toh-wah-nah-n-deh-soo-kah" to an English ear.
Writing and usage
Dekinai (できない) is the negative of dekiru and describes inability. The phrase dekinai koto wa nan desu ka asks about limitations.
Example sentence
「何ができませんか？」と聞かれたら、正直に答えましょう。
'Nani ga dekimasen ka?' to kikaretara, shoujiki ni kotaemashou.
When asked 'What can't you do?', let's answer honestly.
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How to remember できないことは何ですか？
Dekimasen is the polite negative, but dekinai is the plain form. Either way, the door stays closed on possibilities you lack.
Related words
- when is your birthday? 誕生日はいつですか？ tanjōbi wa itsu desu ka ？
- what can you do? 何ができますか？ nani ga dekimasu ka ？
- what is the temperature on sunday? 日曜日の気温は何度ですか？ nichiyōbi no kion wa nan dodesu ka ？
- what is the temperature on saturday? 土曜日の気温は何度ですか？ doyōbi no kion wa nan dodesu ka ？
- what don't you want? 欲しくないものは何ですか？ hoshikunai mono wa nan desu ka ？
- what is the weather on wednesday? 水曜日の天気は何ですか？ suiyōbi no tenki wa nan 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 ？
- what is the temperature on thursday? 木曜日の気温は何度ですか？ mokuyōbi no kion wa nan dodesu ka ？
- what do you like? 何が好きですか？ nani ga suki desu ka ？
Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.
Questions about できないことは何ですか？
How do you pronounce できないことは何ですか?
できないことは何ですか？ is romanised as dekinai koto wa nan desu ka ?. Say it roughly like "deh-kee-nah-ee-koh-toh-wah-nah-n-deh-soo-kah" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.
Is できないことは何ですか formal or casual?
できないことは何ですか？ 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 できないことは何ですか written in Japanese?
できないことは何ですか？ is written using kanji. Dekinai (できない) is the negative of dekiru and describes inability.
Where can I practice Japanese words for free?
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"What can't you do?" in other languages
- Korean 무엇을 할 수 없어요? (mueoseul hal su eopsseoyo?)
- Chinese 你不能做什么? (nǐ bù néng zuò shén me ?)
- Spanish ¿Qué no puedes hacer?
- Spanish (Latin America) ¿Qué no puedes hacer?
- French Qu'est-ce que tu ne peux pas faire ?
- German Was kannst du nicht tun?
- Italian Cosa non sai fare?
- Russian Что ты не умеешь делать? (čto ty ne umeešʹ delatʹ?)
- Greek Τι δεν μπορείς να κάνεις; (ti dhen boris na kanis)
- Arabic أنت مش ممكن تعمل إيه؟ (inta mish mumkin 'tiAmil 'ieeh)
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