How to Say ‘Cannot eat / is unable to eat’ in Japanese
食べられません
tabe rare mase n
[tah-beh rah-reh mah-seh n]
💬 Usage Tip: [食べられません] can mean "cannot eat" physically, but in restaurant talk it's also commonly used for dietary restrictions. So it works naturally for allergies, religious restrictions, or foods someone must avoid.
Phrase Breakdown
食べ
tabe
[tah-beh]
eat
The stem of 食べる, to eat. In 食べられません, it becomes cannot eat.
魚が食べられません。
I cannot eat fish.
られ
rare
[rah-reh]
can be / able to
Part of the potential form showing ability, as in being able to eat.
辛いものは食べられません。
I cannot eat spicy things.
ませ
mase
[mah-seh]
polite negative stem
Part of the polite negative ending ません, used for cannot or do not.
私は魚が食べられません。
I cannot eat fish.
ん
n
[n]
negative ending
Completes the polite negative ending ません.
肉は食べられません。
I cannot eat meat.
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