Grammar JLPT Level N4 - Lesson 24

Structure of でできる:

Noun + で⁽¹⁾ + できる

⁽¹⁾ から

Details about でできる:

でできる, or からできる are two structures that share very similar meanings. Basically, they both mean '(B) was made from/out of (A)'. These constructions highlight the 'ingredients', or 'materials' that something is/was made out of. Let's look at some examples.

今日(きょう)は卵(たまご)と鶏肉(とりにく)でできる料理(りょうり)を紹介(しょうかい)します。
Today we will introduce a food that is made from eggs and chicken.
味噌(みそ)が苦手(にがて)なので、味噌(みそ)からできるものは食(た)べれません。
Because I don't like miso, I can't eat things made from it.

から and で are both case marking particles in this grammar point, and while they express much the same thing when translated into English, there is a slight nuance difference. These differences are as follows:
から - Literally 'prepared from'. Tends to be used more frequently when the material is not obvious at first glance. May also put focus on the ingredients/materials before there was any alteration.
で - Literally 'prepared with'. Tends to be used more frequently when the materials are more obvious.
Despite this, recent generations use で in most situations, regardless of if the material is visible at first glance or not. As a result, でできる and からできる are almost indistinguishable in modern Japanese.

でできる

Usage Notes for でできる:

There is also a small nuance difference between できる, and できている, when used as part of this construction. できる is usually used when talking about something broadly 'everything in category (B) is made from (A)', while できている is used more frequently when examining a specific item 'this particular (B) is made from (A)'. Like the difference between で and から though, they are largely interchangeable.

最近(さいきん)はコンクリートでできる家(いえ)が人気(にんき)だ。
Recently, houses made of concrete are popular. (Houses in general)
この箸(はし)は竹(たけ)でできている。
These chopsticks are made from bamboo. (This specific pair of chopsticks)