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How to Say ‘Can speak; can talk’ in Japanese

話せる

hanaseru

[hah-nah-seh-roo]

💬 Usage Tip: [話す] is "to speak/talk," and [話せる] means "can speak/can talk." You'll see this same pattern in other verbs too, like [食べる] → [食べられる] ("can eat").

Phrase Breakdown

話せる

hanaseru

[hah-nah-seh-roo]

can speak; can talk

Potential form of 話す (to speak). Often used to say you’re able to talk about something (including sensitive relationship topics) comfortably.

Example

君とは将来のことも話せる気がする。

I feel like I can talk about the future with you too.

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