口くちがきけない

口がきけない · i-adjective

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	口くちがきけない	口くちがきけなくない
Polite	口くちがきけないです	口くちがきけなくないですalso 口くちがきけなくありません
Past polite	口くちがきけなかったです	口くちがきけなくなかったですalso 口くちがきけなくありませんでした
Past	口くちがきけなかった	口くちがきけなくなかった
Te-form	口くちがきけなくて	口くちがきけなくなくて
Adverbial	口くちがきけなく
Conditional	口くちがきけなければ	口くちがきけなくなければ
Tara conditional	口くちがきけなかったら	口くちがきけなくなかったら

Meanings

i-adjective, expression

unable to speak; mute; speechless

Describes a physical inability to speak (e.g., due to disability, shock, or being tongue-tied). Can also be used figuratively for being at a loss for words.

Kanji

口mouth
利profit, advantage, benefit
聞hear, ask, listen

Related words

口くちをきく
The affirmative verb phrase meaning 'to speak' or 'to talk'. 口がきけない is its negative potential form, literally 'cannot speak'.
無む口くち
Means 'taciturn' or 'quiet by nature', not physically unable to speak. 口がきけない implies an inability, while 無口 describes a personality trait.

Written forms

口くちがきけない
Standard spelling using kana for きける; the most neutral and widely used form.
口くちが利きけない
Uses the kanji 利, which can also mean 'effective' or 'work'; less common but still seen.
口くちが聞きけない
irregular kanji usage
Irregular kanji usage; 聞 is normally 'to hear', not 'to speak'. Avoid in standard writing.

Etymology

Phrase consisting of 口 (mouth) + が (subject marker) + きけない (negative potential form of きく 'to be effective/function'). Literally 'the mouth cannot function'.