〜でしょう / 〜だろう: Probably & Seeking Agreement (N5)
The stance it takes
でしょう does two jobs, and both are about hedging your voice rather than stating a bare fact. As a conjecture it softens a statement into a guess — "probably," "likely," "I bet," or "it will be" — you're not certain, just estimating. Said with a rising tone and a question mark, 〜でしょう？ flips into "right?" / "isn't it?", checking that the listener sees it the same way and expecting a "yes." The tone (and the punctuation) is the only thing separating the two.
明日は雨でしょう。
あしたは あめでしょう。
It will probably rain tomorrow.
Conjecture — a soft prediction, classic forecast style.
この本、おもしろいでしょう？
この ほん、おもしろいでしょう？
This book is interesting, right?
Rising tone — seeking agreement, not a guess.
What it's built on
でしょう attaches to the plain form of verbs and い-adjectives. With nouns and な-adjectives it follows the plain stem directly — you drop だ and add でしょう (so it's 学生でしょう, never 学生だでしょう).
| Attaches to | Plain form | + でしょう |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | 降る (to fall/rain) | 降るでしょう |
| い-adjective | おいしい | おいしいでしょう |
| な-adjective | 静か(だ) | 静かでしょう |
| Noun | 学生(だ) | 学生でしょう |
モチの部屋は静かでしょう。
モチの へやは しずかでしょう。
Mochi's room is probably quiet.
な-adjective: 静か + でしょう, no だ.
あの人はヤッタンの弟でしょう。
あの ひとは ヤッタンの おとうとでしょう。
That person is probably Yattan's little brother.
Noun: 弟 + でしょう.
How sure it sounds
でしょう is a soft guess, gentler and less direct than plain です/だ — that hedging is exactly why it reads as polite. Its casual equivalent is だろう, formed the same way (降るだろう, おいしいだろう, 静かだろう, 学生だろう) and carrying both meanings, guess and "right?", but plain rather than polite. For register the order runs でしょう > だろう: でしょう is the safe choice with anyone you'd use です with, while だろう is for friends and family.
モチはもう帰っただろう。
モチは もう かえっただろう。
Mochi has probably gone home already.
Casual conjecture.
この ラーメン、うまいだろう？
この ラーメン、うまいだろう？
This ramen's good, right?
Casual 'right?' — said to a friend.
In use
You'll hear でしょう constantly in weather forecasts — 明日は晴れでしょう ("it'll be sunny tomorrow") — because a forecast is exactly an educated guess. It's also the go-to when you want to state something carefully without sounding too sure, which makes it feel courteous, and the rising 〜でしょう？ turns up whenever you want the listener to nod along.
先生は明日来るでしょう。
せんせいは あした くるでしょう。
The teacher will probably come tomorrow.
ヤッタンはもう寝ているでしょう。
ヤッタンは もう ねて いるでしょう。
Yattan is probably asleep already.
この ケーキ、おいしいでしょう？
この ケーキ、おいしいでしょう？
This cake is delicious, isn't it?
日本語の勉強は大変でしょう？
にほんごの べんきょうは たいへんでしょう？
Studying Japanese is tough, right?
Watch-outs
- Leaving だ before でしょう. With nouns and な-adjectives, drop だ: 学生でしょう (✓), not 学生だでしょう (✗).
- Adding です after it. でしょう is already polite — don't write でしょうです. (です itself becomes でしょう.)
- Mixing up the two uses by tone. A flat/falling でしょう = "probably"; a rising でしょう？ = "right?". Punctuate and intonate accordingly.
- Using だろう with someone you should be polite to. だろう is casual; with teachers, strangers, or customers, use でしょう.
The short version
- でしょう = "probably" (falling tone) or "right?" (rising tone, with ？).
- Attaches to plain verbs/い-adjectives; for nouns/な-adjectives, drop だ and add でしょう.
- Casual form is だろう; politeness runs でしょう > だろう.
- Forecasts and polite, careful guesses lean on でしょう a lot.
Practice it
Choose the correct form and use of でしょう / だろう.
＿＿＿に入れるのに最もよいものを選びなさい。
Choose the grammar pattern that best completes the sentence.
明日は晴れる＿＿＿。
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between です and でしょう?
です states something as a fact. でしょう softens it into a guess ('probably') or a request for agreement ('right?'). でしょう is already polite, so you never combine them as でしょうです.
How do I tell 'probably' from 'right?'
Tone and punctuation. A falling tone with a period means 'probably' (明日は雨でしょう). A rising tone with a question mark means 'right?' (おいしいでしょう？).
When should I use だろう instead of でしょう?
だろう is the casual version, for friends and family. でしょう is polite, for teachers, strangers, and any situation where you'd use です. They mean the same thing.
Do I keep だ before でしょう with nouns?
No. Drop だ: 学生でしょう, 静かでしょう. 学生だでしょう is incorrect.
Where 〜でしょう / 〜だろう fits
Shaky on this? Get these solid first
- です · N5 — です is the polite 'to be': NOUN/な-adjective + です means 'is/are.' Learn the negative じゃありません, past でした, how です attaches to い-adjectives, and the plain だ.
Don't confuse it with
- 〜ほうがいい · N5 — 〜ほうがいい gives advice: use the past (た) form for 'you should do X' (休んだほうがいい) and the ない-form for 'you'd better not' (行かないほうがいい). Learn the forms and nuance.
Hear it in a real conversation
See this pattern used naturally in a real-situation dialogue:
More N5 grammar to explore
Keep going with related patterns at the same level:
- 〜けど / 〜が — けど and が join two clauses to mean 'but' or 'although': 高いけど買う. が is more formal, けど is conversational. Learn both, plus the polite softener use (すみませんが…).
- 〜がほしい — ほしい expresses wanting a thing (a noun): 〜がほしい. Learn the formation, the が particle, the 〜てほしい variant ('want someone to do'), and how it differs from 〜たい.
- 〜たい — 〜たい attaches to a verb stem to say what you want to do. Learn the formation, why it conjugates like an i-adjective, the が/を switch, how to talk about other people's wants (たがる), and see 12 examples.
- 〜てみたい — 〜てみたい means you want to try doing something: 日本に行ってみたい. Learn how it combines 〜てみる ('try doing') and 〜たい ('want'), plus how to conjugate it.
- 〜つもり — つもり expresses a personal plan or intention: 行くつもりです ('I plan to go'). Learn the dictionary-form pattern, negatives, つもりだった, and how it differs from よてい and 〜よう.
- だけ — だけ means 'only' or 'just' — water だけ, one だけ, look だけ. Learn how to attach it to nouns, numbers, and verbs, what happens to を and が, and how it differs from しか〜ない.