Where does “できない” come from?
できない (Japanese) comes from Japanese ない, from Old Japanese ない.
Ancestry of “できない”, step by step
できない traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via Japanese ない
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japanese | ない | having that quality, having that state; very much... |
| 2 | Old Japanese | ない | — |
via Japanese [[できる
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japanese | [[できる | — |
via Japanese でき]]
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japanese | でき]] | — |