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戦術{せんじゅつ}と戦闘{せんとう}どっちもいける奴{やつ}には勝{か}てない。

The translation of this seems to be

(He) will not win against someone who can do both strategy and fighting

However this is the first I've seen いける used to mean "can do". I would have understood どっちもできる, so am I translating correctly? Else in what context can one be substituted for the other?

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行{い}ける vs. いける

When a common word that is usually written using kanji is written in kana, you can be 99% sure that it is being used for its "new" and/or colloquial (sometimes slangy) meaning.

So, 「行ける」 means "to be able to go", but 「いける」 means something else. What does it mean, then? Let us quote from デジタル大辞泉.

動{どう}カ下一{しもいち}］《行{い}くことができる意{い}から》

１ 相当{そうとう}にうまくできる。「歌{うた}だけでなく、踊{おど}りも―・ける」

２ 相当の量{りょう}の酒{さけ}が飲{の}める。「なかなか―・ける口{くち}だ」

３ 飲食物{いんしょくぶつ}の味{あじ}がよく、おいしい。いただける。「ここの料理{りょうり}はちょっと―・ける」

That briefly translates to:

1 To be able to perform quite well

2 To be able to drink in large quantities

3 To taste good. Tasty, delicious.

So, the word has very positive meanings.

「戦術{せんじゅつ}と戦闘{せんとう}どっちもいける奴{やつ}には勝{か}てない。」

thus means:

"It is hard to beat a guy who is very good at both strategy and (actual) fighting."

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  • Couple of follow up questions. First I see it's written "―・ける" is this natural or a dictionary thing? Second, you're saying it's a slangy expression? Third, unrelated, I'd heard 奴 as an insulting way to refer to someone, for example "あのやつ". Is that true or is it just "あの" that makes it insulting? – Andrew Dec 28 '16 at 0:28
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    あのやつ <- I think you'd rather say あいつ... – Chocolate♦ Dec 28 '16 at 0:52
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    @Andrew 1) "―・ける" is a dictionary thing. You are to read it as いける. 2) Not slangy, just colloquial in this case. I mean both in your example sentence and the dictionary definitions I quoted. However, if you surround いける with other words that clearly sound slangy, いける might also sound slangy as a result. 3) 奴 (or あいつ), all by itself, is not insulting. It is just colloquial/informal and tough-guy-like. You can actually refer to a person that you look up to using those words. – l'électeur Dec 28 '16 at 1:16
  • @chocolate Yes, that too, but I would never call anyone 奴 because it could offend. But then when I lived in Japan I didn't hang out with many "tough guys". :) – Andrew Dec 28 '16 at 1:21
  • Question~ Is いける potential form of 行くor is it a different verb? Isn't 行く godan and 行けるichidan? Is it the same? Is it ok for me to use 行きる in the sentence provided? – Shiniboi Oct 24 '18 at 1:43
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Your translation is correct, but I would say that "(He/you) cannot win".

In everyday language I have seen this use of いける way more than once. I would say it feels more natural, while here できる feels more scholastic.

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  • I left out the first part of the sentence where the subject (some guy referred to as "メガネ") was mentioned, since it wasn't relevant. So definitely informal. – Andrew Dec 27 '16 at 21:36

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