かねる expresses difficulty or inability to do something; かねない means that something could happen, usually with an unwelcome result. Both attach to a verb’s ます-stem. かねます is common in formal refusals. かねなかった can describe a risk that existed in the past; it does not say that the feared event actually happened.
cannot bring myself to·might well happen
Structure
Verb［ますstem］＋かねる
分かる→分かりかねる. Conjugates like a normal ichidan verb: かねます, かねました.
Verb［ますstem］＋かねない
言う→言いかねない. Past risk: 言いかねなかった. Polite: 言いかねません.
Verb［ますstem］＋かねません
つながり→つながりかねません. The polite form of かねない — common in news and in safety notices.
見る／待つ＋かねる
見かねる, 待ちかねる. Set compounds where かねる keeps its literal “find it hard to” meaning.
Meaning
かねる means cannot — but a particular flavour of cannot. Not “it is physically impossible,” but “I am not in a position to.” 分かりかねます is a customer-service agent saying they cannot tell you, and お受けしかねます is a company declining your request. It softens a refusal by making it sound like a limit rather than a decision, which is exactly why it lives in call centres, contracts, and apology emails.
かねない is grammatically a negative form, but its established meaning is “might well” or “could easily,” usually about an unwelcome outcome. 事故につながりかねない warns of a possible accident.
Keep them apart by meaning: かねる expresses difficulty doing something; かねない expresses a possibility, usually an unwelcome one. Either can describe the speaker or someone else.
There is also the original かねる, alive inside a handful of compounds. 見るに見かねて is “I could not just stand and watch,” and 待ちかねる is waiting so long it becomes hard to bear. Same verb, older sense, and a good reminder that the core idea is difficulty rather than refusal.
Sentences
かねる — the polite no
polite。
Hover, tap, or tab through the words.
詳細
しょうさい ［0］
the details
noun · 詳 detailed ＋ 細 fine
Ask Rikai
に
に
part of について
particle · について means about, regarding
Ask Rikai
ついては
ついては
as for
について ＋ は · the topic-marked form, common in formal speech
Ask Rikai
分かりかねます
わかりかねます
I am not able to say
masu-stem 分かり ＋ かねます · a refusal dressed as a limit
Ask Rikai
I'm afraid I can't say anything about the details.
かねる — declining a request
polite、。
Hover, tap, or tab through the words.
恐れ入りますが
おそれいりますが
I'm sorry to say, but
set phrase · the softest way to open a refusal
Ask Rikai
その
その
that
demonstrative · the one nearer you than me
Ask Rikai
ご要望
ごようぼう ［0］
request
noun ＋ honorific ご · the customer's request, not ours
Ask Rikai
は
は
marks the topic
particle · pronounced わ
Ask Rikai
お受けしかねます
おうけしかねます
we are unable to accept
humble お〜する ＋ かねます · the standard business refusal
Ask Rikai
I'm sorry, but we're unable to accept that request.
見かねる — the original sense
plain、。
Hover, tap, or tab through the words.
見るに見かねて
みるにみかねて
unable to just watch
set phrase · かねる in its literal sense of finding something hard to do
Ask Rikai
手
て ［1］
hand
noun · 手を貸す is to lend a hand
Ask Rikai
を
を
marks the direct object
particle · pronounced お
Ask Rikai
貸した
かした
lent
plain past of 貸す · 借りる is the borrowing side
Ask Rikai
I couldn't just stand there watching, so I lent a hand.
かねない — that person could well
casual、。
Hover, tap, or tab through the words.
あの人
あのひと
that person
あの ＋ 人 · a little distant, and here a little wary
Ask Rikai
なら
なら
if it's them
conditional · picks the person up as the topic of a guess
Ask Rikai
そんなこと
そんなこと
a thing like that
そんな ＋ こと · often carries disapproval
Ask Rikai
も
も
even
particle · even that, on top of everything else
Ask Rikai
言いかねない
いいかねない
might well say
masu-stem 言い ＋ かねない · a warning, never a compliment
Ask Rikai
Knowing them, they might well say something like that.
かねません — the safety notice
polite。
Hover, tap, or tab through the words.
寝不足
ねぶそく ［2］
lack of sleep
noun · 寝る sleep ＋ 不足 shortage
Ask Rikai
は
は
marks the topic
particle · pronounced わ
Ask Rikai
事故
じこ ［1］
accident
noun · 事 matter ＋ 故 incident
Ask Rikai
に
に
into (the result)
particle · つながる always takes に
Ask Rikai
つながりかねません
つながりかねません
could well lead to
masu-stem つながり ＋ かねません · the polite かねない, standard in warnings
Ask Rikai
Lack of sleep can easily lead to an accident.
かねない — the drifting situation
plain、。
Hover, tap, or tab through the words.
このままでは
このままでは
if things stay like this
この ＋ まま ＋ では · the standard opener for a warning
Ask Rikai
経営
けいえい ［0］
management; the business
noun · 経 manage ＋ 営 operate
Ask Rikai
が
が
marks the subject
particle · 悪化する takes が
Ask Rikai
悪化しかねない
あっかしかねない
could easily worsen
悪化する ＋ かねない · nobody wants this outcome, which is why かねない fits
Ask Rikai
At this rate, business could easily get worse.
Watch out
The commonest mistake at N2. 言いかねない is not “cannot say” — it is “might well say.” If you need “cannot say,” that is 言いかねます.
かねない normally frames the outcome as unwelcome. For an ordinary welcome possibility such as passing an exam, use かもしれない.
持てない is the ordinary conversational choice for physical inability. かねる is broader than business refusal, but often sounds formal or literary.
Also asked
Grammatically, it is a negative form of かねる. Its established possibility meaning is not the simple opposite of “cannot”: 言いかねない means “might well say.”
かねます is common in polite refusals. The plain form かねる also describes difficulty or hesitation; it is not inherently polite.
Yes. つながりかねなかった means “could have led to”: a risk existed then. It does not assert that the outcome happened.
恐れがある is a formal, impersonal risk statement and fits documents and forecasts. かねない is a little more pointed and often carries a hint of blame: this is likely enough that you should do something.
Yes, through the masu-stem: お答えしかねます, 判断しかねます, お約束しかねます. The humble お〜する pattern in front of it is very common in business Japanese.
It is the original one. 待ちかねる means waiting until it becomes hard to bear, and お待ちかねです is a warm way of saying someone has been eagerly awaiting you.
References
Shogakukan dictionary: 兼ねる (via Kotobank) — Gives the difficulty/inability and possibility senses of this auxiliary verb.
Shogakukan dictionary: 言兼ねない (via Kotobank) — Identifies the grammatical negative formation; its possibility meaning differs from simple inability.
Matsuyama University: 「監獄変じてホテルになる」 — Attests 殺されかねなかった as a past risk in published university prose.
Nearby
That's the whole list. rikAI is an iPhone app and it isn't out yet.
