JLPT N2 · Verb

兼ねる (kaneru)

兼ねる (かねる, kaneru) is a Japanese verb meaning “to be unable to; to find difficult (unpleasant, awkward, painful) to do”. It is usually written in kana. It appears in JLPT N2 vocabulary lists and is marked as a common word in JMdict.

Reading: かねる
Romaji: kaneru
Word class: Ichidan verb (る-verb)
Level: JLPT N2 (unofficial)

Meaning

to be unable to; to find difficult (unpleasant, awkward, painful) to do · suffix, ichidan verb · usually written in kana · after the -masu stem of verb
to serve two or more functions or roles simultaneously; to contain (or combine) two or more features · ichidan verb, transitive
to work in two or more jobs simultaneously (positions, etc.); to do alongside · ichidan verb, transitive
to hesitate to do something (out of consideration for others) · ichidan verb, transitive
to think of the future (as well as the present) · ichidan verb, transitive

Example sentences

こういう事情ですから、残念ながら、せっかくのご招待をお受けいたしかねるのです。

As such is the case, I am sorry I can't accept your kind invitation.

Tatoeba #225050

今日は、ばーさんのお使いを兼ねて街で買い物。

Today I'm shopping in town as well as running an errand for my grandmother.

Tatoeba #74948

私は勉強と遊びを兼ねている仕事につきたい。

I want to get a job that mixes work and play.

Tatoeba #152889

Sentences from the Tatoeba project, linked to this word in JMdict.

Conjugation of 兼ねる

Ichidan verb (る-verb). Plain and polite forms below; try any other word in the Japanese verb conjugator.

Form	Japanese	Reading
Dictionary	兼ねる	かねる kaneru
Polite (~masu)	兼ねます	かねます kanemasu
Negative	兼ねない	かねない kanenai
Polite negative	兼ねません	かねません kanemasen
Past	兼ねた	かねた kaneta
Polite past	兼ねました	かねました kanemashita
Negative past	兼ねなかった	かねなかった kanenakatta
Te-form	兼ねて	かねて kanete
Potential	兼ねられる	かねられる kanerareru
Passive	兼ねられる	かねられる kanerareru
Causative	兼ねさせる	かねさせる kanesaseru
Volitional	兼ねよう	かねよう kaneyou
Imperative	兼ねろ	かねろ kanero
Conditional (~ba)	兼ねれば	かねれば kanereba

Kanji in 兼ねる

兼

concurrently, and, beforehandケン・か.ねる・-か.ねる · 10 strokes

Related words

Other vocabulary sharing a kanji with 兼ねる.

兼業けんぎょうpursuing as a side business気兼ねきがねconstraint兼用けんようmulti-use

Source: JMdict entry 1256520 (EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0). Level: unofficial JLPT list – how levels are assigned.