かねない details
write + could well
kaki kanenai
could well (and it wouldn't be good); there's a real chance that
meaning: could well write
そんなスピードで走ると、事故を起こしかねないよ。
sonna supiido de hashiru to, jiko o okoshi kanenai yo.
If you drive at that speed, you could well cause an accident. casual
今回の対応の遅れは、会社の信用を損ないかねない。
konkai no taiou no okure wa, kaisha no shinyou o sokonai kanenai.
This delay in our response could well damage the company's credibility. formal
- past
- polite
Examples
could well (and it wouldn't be good) — warns that an unwelcome outcome is a real possibility, not a bare neutral guess
そんなスピードで走ると、事故を起こしかねないよ。
sonna supiido de hashiru to, jiko o okoshikanenai yo.
If you drive at that speed, you could well cause an accident. casual
今回の対応の遅れは、会社の信用を損ないかねません。
konkai no taiou no okure wa, kaisha no shinyou o sokonaikanemasen.
This delay in our response could well damage the company's credibility. formal
過労は健康を害しかねない。
karou wa kenkou o gaishikanenai.
Overwork could well harm one's health. neutral
Formation
{V-masu-stem}かねないattaches to ます-stem
Notes
Related patterns
Similar
かもしれない is neutral about desirability and attaches to any predicate; かねない narrows to a masu-stem verb and always frames the possible outcome as bad — 危険かもしれない merely flags risk, 危険になりかねない warns it could actually happen.
Both name a possibility on a masu-stem, but 得る is neutral about whether the outcome is good or bad, while かねない frames the possibility as specifically unwelcome — 起こり得る is a bare fact, 起こりかねない is a warning.
Lookalikes
One かない apart — かねる is a first-person "I am not in a position to" refusal (お答えしかねます), かねない is a third-person warning that a bad outcome is possible (事故になりかねない); mixing them up flips who the sentence is even about.