How to Communicate Uncertainty When Speaking Japanese

How to Communicate Uncertainty When Speaking Japanese Most English speakers are probably not familiar with the subjunctive, as it only appears very rarely there. However, speakers of Spanish or French know it well, because they communicate theoretical ideas with if, might, or maybe by conjugating subjunctive verb forms. While there is no subjunctive mood or verb form in Japanese, there are several ways to express uncertainty.  Related concepts when learning the language include the conditional or potential. Darou, Deshou, and Tabun Darou is a plain form of deshou, and means will probably. The adverb tabun (perhaps) is sometimes added. Kare wa ashita kuru deshou.Ã¥ ½ ¼Ã£  ¯Ã¦ËœÅ½Ã¦â€" ¥Ã¦  ¥Ã£â€šâ€¹Ã£  §Ã£ â€"ょ㠁†ï ½ ¡ "He will probably come tomorrow." Ashita wa hareru darou.明æâ€" ¥Ã£  ¯Ã¦â„¢ ´Ã£â€šÅ'る㠁  Ã£â€š Ã£ â€ Ã¯ ½ ¡ "It will be sunny tomorrow." Kyou haha wa tabun uchi ni iru deshou.ä »Å Ã¦â€" ¥Ã¦ ¯ Ã£  ¯Ã£ Å¸Ã£  ¶Ã£â€šâ€œÃ£ â€ Ã£  ¡Ã£  «Ã£ â€žÃ£â€šâ€¹Ã£  §Ã£ â€"ょ㠁†ï ½ ¡ "My mother will probably be home today." Darou or deshou are also used to form a tag question. In this case, you usually can tell the meaning from the context. Tsukareta deshou.çâ€" ²Ã£â€šÅ'㠁Ÿã  §Ã£ â€"ょ㠁†ï ½ ¡ "You were tired, weren't you?" Kyou wa kyuuryoubi darou.ä »Å Ã¦â€" ¥Ã£  ¯Ã§ µ ¦Ã¦â€"™æâ€" ¥Ã£   Ã£â€š Ã£ â€ Ã¯ ½ ¡ "Today is a payday, isn't it?" Ka, Kashira, Kana, and Kamoshirenai Darou ka or deshou ka are used when guessing with doubt. Kashira is used only by females. A similar expression used by both genders is kana, though it is informal. These expressions are close to I wonder in English. Emi wa mou igirisu ni itta no darou ka.ã‚ ¨Ã£Æ'Ÿã  ¯Ã£â€šâ€šÃ£ â€ Ã£â€š ¤Ã£â€š ®Ã£Æ' ªÃ£â€š ¹Ã£  «Ã¨ ¡Å'㠁 £Ã£ Å¸Ã£  ®Ã£   Ã£â€š Ã£ â€ Ã£ â€¹Ã¯ ½ ¡ "I wonder if Emi has already gone to England." Kore ikura kashira.㠁“ã‚Å'㠁„㠁 Ã£â€šâ€°Ã£ â€¹Ã£ â€"らï ½ ¡ "I wonder how much this is." Nobu wa itsu kuru no kana.㠁 ®Ã£  ¶Ã£  ¯Ã£ â€žÃ£  ¤Ã¦  ¥Ã£â€šâ€¹Ã£  ®Ã£ â€¹Ã£  ªÃ¯ ½ ¡ "I wonder when Nobu will come." Kamoshirenai is used to express a sense of probability or doubt. It shows even less certainty than darou or deshou. It is used when you dont know all the facts and are often just guessing. It is similar to the English expression might be. The formal version of kamoshirenai is kamoshiremasen. Ashita wa ame kamoshirenai.明æâ€" ¥Ã£  ¯Ã©â€º ¨Ã£ â€¹Ã£â€šâ€šÃ£ â€"ã‚Å'㠁 ªÃ£ â€žÃ¯ ½ ¡ "It might rain tomorrow." Kinyoubi desu kara, kondeiru kamoshiremasen.金æ›Å"æâ€" ¥Ã£  §Ã£ â„¢Ã£ â€¹Ã£â€šâ€°Ã¯ ½ ¤ æ · ·Ã£â€šâ€œÃ£  §Ã£ â€žÃ£â€šâ€¹Ã£ â€¹Ã£â€šâ€šÃ£ â€"ã‚Å'㠁 ¾Ã£ â€ºÃ£â€šâ€œÃ¯ ½ ¡ "Since it is Friday, it might be busy." The last thing to mention is, darou and deshou cant be used when referring to ones own actions. For example, one would never say, Ashita watashi wa Kobe ni iku darou to communicate I might go to Kobe tomorrow. This would be grammatically incorrect. Kamoshirenai can be used in these situations, instead. Ashita watashi wa Kobe niiku kamoshirenai.明æâ€" ¥Ã§ § Ã£  ¯Ã§ ¥Å¾Ã¦Ë† ¸Ã£  «Ã¨ ¡Å'㠁 Ã£ â€¹Ã£â€šâ€šÃ£ â€"ã‚Å'㠁 ªÃ£ â€žÃ¯ ½ ¡ "I might go to Kobe tomorrow." Ashita ane wa Kobe ni iku darou.明æâ€" ¥Ã¥ §â€°Ã£  ¯Ã§ ¥Å¾Ã¦Ë† ¸Ã£  «Ã¨ ¡Å'㠁 Ã£   Ã£â€š Ã£ â€ Ã¯ ½ ¡ "My sister might go to Kobe tomorrow." Practice Comparing Sentences Kare wa tabun kin-medaru o toru deshou.Ã¥ ½ ¼Ã£  ¯Ã£ Å¸Ã£  ¶Ã£â€šâ€œÃ©â€¡â€˜Ã£Æ' ¡Ã£Æ'ۋÆ' «Ã£â€šâ€™Ã¥ â€"る㠁 §Ã£ â€"ょ㠁†ï ½ ¡ "He will probably get the gold medal." Kare wa kin-medal o totta no kana.Ã¥ ½ ¼Ã£  ¯Ã©â€¡â€˜Ã£Æ' ¡Ã£Æ'ۋÆ' «Ã£â€šâ€™Ã¥ â€"㠁 £Ã£ Å¸Ã£  ®Ã£ â€¹Ã£  ªÃ¯ ½ ¡ "I wonder if he got the gold medal." Kare wa kin-medaru o toru kamoshirenai.Ã¥ ½ ¼Ã£  ¯Ã©â€¡â€˜Ã£Æ' ¡Ã£Æ'ۋÆ' «Ã£â€šâ€™Ã¥ â€"る㠁‹ã‚‚㠁â€"ã‚Å'㠁 ªÃ£ â€žÃ¯ ½ ¡ "He might get the gold medal."