いける

いける
verb (ichidan)
to be doable; to be okay; to work
自動詞 intransitiveinformalcolloquialevaluation
See also: 生(い)ける (to arrange flowers (生))
Conjugation
AffirmativeNegative
Presentいけるいけない
Present politeいけますいけません
Pastいけたいけなかった
Past politeいけましたいけませんでした
て formいけていけなくて
ている presentいけているいけていない
ている politeいけていますいけていません
ている pastいけていたいけていなかった
ている past politeいけていましたいけていませんでした
Conditional ばいければいけなければ
Conditional たらいけたらいけなかったら
Volitionalいけよう—
Volitional politeいけましょう—
Causativeいけさせるいけさせない
1. to be doable; to be possible; to work out
Colloquial expression indicating something is feasible or acceptable.
「いける?」「うん、いける。」
"Can you do it?" "Yeah, I can."
もうちょっとでいけそうだ。
I think we can almost make it.
「明日(あした)、来(こ)れる?」「うん、いけると思(おも)う。」
"Can you come tomorrow?" "Yeah, I think I can make it."
If you leave now, you can still make it.
I think you could manage this much on your own, but shall I help?
2. to be good; to be tasty; to be not bad
Used to express that something (food, drink) is surprisingly good or acceptable.
このワイン、いけるね。
This wine is pretty good.
This dish is pretty good, isn't it?
It's a cheap place, but the food is surprisingly good.
It looked weird, but when I tried it, it was good.
This ramen is better than I expected, so give it a try.

いける is a casual verb used to say that something will work out, is doable, or is good enough — a plan, a schedule, a portion of food, someone's singing. It grew out of the potential form of 行(い)く and keeps that sense of "this can go through." It is 自動詞(じどうし) (intransitive): the thing being judged is the subject, and there is no direct object.

Etymology

Derived from 行(い)ける (potential form of 行(い)く), extended to mean "things can go/work."

Common patterns

  • いける? / いけます? - Can you do it? / Does it work?
  • いけると思(おも)う - I think it'll work
  • いけそう - looks doable
  • 結構(けっこう)いける - pretty good (unexpectedly)

Register

Casual/colloquial. Common in everyday conversation.

Similar words

Common collocations