Episode 38
Right? & Probably — ね / でしょう
Learn how Japanese sentence-ending particles ね and でしょう change the feeling of what you say — seeking agreement, softening statements into predictions.
In this episode of げんきフロー, you'll learn two sentence-ending particles that don't change what you say — they change how it lands. The particle ね reaches out and invites agreement. The particle でしょう softens a statement into a gentle prediction. Both are everywhere in natural Japanese conversation.
What You'll Learn#
Sentences in This Episode#
ね examples:
Nice weather, isn't it?
いい天気ですね。
いい天気だね。
It's cold, isn't it?
さむいですね。
さむいね。
It's expensive, isn't it?
高いですね。
高いね。
でしょう examples:
It will be sunny tomorrow.
明日は晴れるでしょう。
明日は晴れるだろう。
They'll probably come.
たぶん来来るしょう。
たぶん来来るろう。
ね vs か — A Quick Contrast#
Both ね and か sit at the end of a sentence. But they do very different things:
| Particle | Role | Example |
|---|---|---|
| か | Real question — you don't know the answer | あついですか？ "Is it hot?" |
| ね | Shared feeling — you have a feeling and want connection | あついですね。 "It's hot, isn't it?" |
The particle か opens a door for information. The particle ね opens a door for connection.
Related Grammar#
- The question marker か — episode 4
- い-adjective forms — episode 25
- です — the copula — episode 3
Practice#
Ready to use ね and でしょう in real sentences? Head to the ji vix dot com app to drill these patterns with spaced repetition.
Ready to start speaking Japanese?
Practice real sentences with AI-powered feedback. Free forever on N5.
Practice ね and でしょう in JIVX