modality N5 essential polite teineigo (polite)
でしょう — probably ~ / ~, right? (polite)
でしょう
Builds on だろう
Meaning
- probably ~ (polite conjecture); or ~, right? when seeking the listener's agreement
Key sentence
明日は雨でしょう。
It will probably rain tomorrow.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Plain form / noun / na-adjective | plain V/A + でしょう; N or na-adj + でしょう | 来るでしょう / 大変でしょう |
Examples
週末は混んでいるでしょう。
It'll probably be crowded over the weekend.
お疲れでしょう。少し休んでください。
You must be tired. Please rest a little.
Easily confused with
Notes
- With rising intonation, でしょう？ asks the listener to agree: 「いい考えでしょう？」('good idea, isn't it?').
See でしょう in real sentences
Jengo shows でしょう 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, A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar.