〜かもしれない

〜かもしれない expresses possibility or uncertainty — "might," "maybe," or "perhaps" in English. It indicates the speaker considers something possible but is not confident. Among Japanese expressions of probability, かもしれない expresses a lower degree of certainty than でしょう or はずだ.

This is an intermediate pattern used regularly in everyday Japanese conversation and writing.

When to Use#

• Uncertain possibility: 雨が降るかもしれない (It might rain)
• Hedging a statement: 間違っているかもしれません (I might be wrong)
• Speculating: もう帰ったかもしれない (They might have gone home already)

When NOT to Use#

• When you're fairly confident — use でしょう or だろう instead
• When stating expectations based on evidence — use はずだ

Example Sentences#

• 電車が遅れるかもしれません。 — The train might be delayed.
• 飛行機が満席かもしれません。 — The flight might be full.
• ガイドが来ないかもしれません。 — The tour guide might not come.

Practice#

Try reading these sentences aloud, then check the translation and vocabulary:

Common Mistakes#

1. Adding だ before かもしれない with な-adjectives/nouns — Drop だ: ✓ 静かかもしれない ✗ 静かだかもしれない. But keep the plain form for verbs and い-adjectives: 行くかもしれない, 高いかもしれない.
2. Confusing with でしょう — かもしれない (maybe, ~30-50% sure) vs. でしょう (probably, ~70-80% sure). 雨が降るかもしれない (it might rain) vs. 雨が降るでしょう (it'll probably rain).

Related Patterns#

• 〜でしょう (probably / I think) — Compare