Japanese with Manga

Finishing her noodles for her with 〜きれない

Grammar Explanation: Unable to finish with 〜きれない (Future entry)

At a restaurant table, Takagi leans toward Chii with a smile while Nishikata turns toward her from the left. Chii is seen from behind in the foreground.
からかい上手の（元）高木さん » Volume 2 » Page 23

Nishikata, Takagi, and their daughter Chii stop at a restaurant that serves fresh soumen noodles. Nishikata orders a large serving, and Chii asks for a large one too.

高木(たかぎ):
「食(た)べられるの!?　ちー。」
“You can eat that much, Chii?!”
ちー:
「たべれるー。」
“I can!”
西片(にしかた):
「食(た)べきれなかったらオレが食(た)べるよ。」
“If you can't finish it, I'll eat the rest.”

Key Points

1食(た)べきれなかったら, “if you can’t finish it”
  • 〜きれない after the stem 食(た)べ is about eating all of something. Chii can surely eat some soumen. The question is whether she can get through a whole large serving.
  • 食(た)べきれなかった is the past form, and ら makes it 〜たら, “if”. The past form doesn’t mean this already happened. It pictures the moment Chii can’t eat any more.
2食(た)べられる and たべれる vs. 食(た)べきれる
  • Takagi asks 食(た)べられるの？ with the potential form, “can you eat it?” Chii answers たべれる, a casual potential that drops the ら. Both are about whether she can manage a large serving at all.
  • Nishikata’s 〜きれない narrows this down to finishing. He’s ready for the likely outcome: Chii eats part of it and leaves the rest.
3食(た)べられるの!?, a surprised question
  • The の turns Takagi’s question into a check on what Chii just said: “You really think you can eat that much?”
4オレが食(た)べるよ
  • が marks オレ as the one who will eat, and よ makes the offer sound reassuring: “Don’t worry, I’ll eat it.”

Vocabulary

(To eat)

食(た)べる is to put food in your mouth, chew, and swallow it.

(I)

オレ is a katakana spelling of おれ, a casual, masculine word for “I”. It is also written 俺(おれ).

See Also

からかい上手の（元）高木さん © its respective creators. It is used here for educational commentary.