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How can you distinguish two verbs when the dictionary form of one is exactly
the same as the "potential" form of another. E.g:

  * 開く [Godan verb with ku ending, intransitive verb] (Potential form: **開ける** ) 

  * **開ける** [Ichidan verb, Transitive verb] (Potential form: 開けられる)

As I understand it, both are related to opening something so they'd be used in
similar contexts, & both in "masu" form (with 開く firstly put into potential
form) would be "開けます". In this case 開ける is transitive & 開く intransitive, so
they'd differ by を or が respectively when used in a sentence; however, I can
imagine that this isn't always the case.

Would you be able to _consistently_ tell the difference by particle used? Is
this just a case where it comes down to context / homonyms? Or am I
fundamentally misunderstanding something?

_Edit 1_ : Didn't realise that the kanji I picked actually related to two
different sets of words where the above applies;「あく」&「あける」as well
as「ひらく」&「ひらける」. I'm getting the feeling, looking at some of these cases, that
it'll just be contextual + memorisation, and sometimes it could actually just
be both & it's up to the speaker / listener to clarify; if anyone has tips
though, I'd be happy to hear them.

_Edit 2_ : Just came across: [Potential form vs Intransitive
Verbs](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/36811/potential-form-vs-
intransitive-verbs?rq=1), but I don't feel like the answer really squares. The
example I gave seems to line up with the example the asker there gave,
except「あける」is both the potential form of「あく」, and also an _in_ transitive
verb. Conversely, both「ひらける」and「ひらく」can be intransitive (according to the
dictionary I'm looking at).
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2019-07-25T01:37:32.397
69691
2019-07-26T02:26:49.050
2019-07-25T06:30:11.727
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question
potential-form homonyms
Distinguish between homonyms & potential form
> Would you be able to consistently tell the difference by particle used?

The short answer is no. Sometimes it is impossible to tell the correct reading
without thinking of the context. 開く/開ける is exceptionally complex, but there
are some other confusing kanji which has more than one kun-reading, for
example, 辛い（からい・つらい）, 汚れる（よごれる・けがれる）, 怒る（おこる・いかる）, 弾く（ひく・はじく） and
被る（かぶる・こうむる）. You have to learn the appropriate reading from examples.

* * *

Here is the list of potential readings and meanings of 開く/開ける.

**開く**

  * あく (intransitive) to open 

> ドアがあく。店があく。

  * ひらく (intransitive) to open; (transitive) to open something 

> ドアがひらく。ドアをひらく。店がひらく。店をひらく。

**開ける**

  * あける (transitive) to open something 

> ドアをあける。店をあける。

  * ひらける (potential-form of transitive ひらく) can open something 

> 店をひらけるほどの服がある。

  * ひらける (intransitive) to spread out; to become clear/vast 

> 視界がひらける。家がひらけた土地に建っている。
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answer