modality N4 common casual
だろ — casual contraction of だろう: 'probably ~' / 'right?'
だろ
Builds on だろう
Meaning
- ~, right? / ~, isn't it / probably ~ — the clipped casual form of だろう, usually pressing for agreement
だろ is だろう with the long vowel cut, very casual and a bit blunt or masculine. In speech it mostly means 'right?' — pushing the listener to agree, often confidently or even with a told-you-so edge (だから言っただろ — 'I told you, didn't I'). It keeps だろう's conjectural 'probably' sense too, but the confirm-agreement use dominates.
Key sentence
これ、君のだろ。
This is yours, right?
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Plain form / noun / na-adjective (だろう → だろ) | … plain + だろ | できるだろ / 嘘だろ / 大丈夫だろ |
Examples
ほら、言った通りだろ。
See? Just like I said, right?
そんなの無理に決まってるだろ。
There's no way that'll work, obviously.
明日は来るんだろ？
You're coming tomorrow, right?
Easily confused with
だろう Same word; だろ is the shortened, casual-only form. Full だろう keeps the 'probably' conjecture reading more readily, while clipped だろ leans hard into the spoken 'right?' confirmation. でしょう でしょう is the polite register; だろ is rough/casual. Use でしょう (or でしょ) to a superior or stranger — だろ can sound demanding.
Notes
- The polite-casual counterpart is でしょ (clipped でしょう), softer than だろ and commonly used by all speakers in friendly conversation.
See だろ in real sentences
Jengo shows だろ the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar.