～だろう

N4

～だろう

~darou

~darou (probably, I think)

N4

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Explanation

The grammar point ～だろう is used to express probability, conjecture, or the speaker's guess about a situation. It is often translated as 'probably', 'I think', or 'maybe'. It follows the plain form of verbs, い-adjectives (without い), な-adjectives, or nouns.

Structure

Pattern
Verb-casual / い-adjective (drop い) / な-adjective / Noun + だろう
Verb (plain form) + だろうAttach だろう directly to the plain form of the verb.
Examples: 行くだろう, 食べるだろう
い-adjective (drop い) + だろうRemove the final い from the adjective before adding だろう.
Examples: 高かろう, 新しかろう
な-adjective + だろうAttach だろう directly to the な-adjective stem.
Examples: 静かだろう, 元気だろう
Noun + だろうAttach だろう directly to the noun.
Examples: 先生だろう, 雨だろう

Examples

Example 1
明日は晴れるだろう。
Ashita wa hareru darou.
It will probably be sunny tomorrow.
Breakdown
明日tomorrow
はtopic particle
晴れるbe sunny
だろうprobably
Example 2
彼は忙しいだろう。
Kare wa isogashii darou.
He is probably busy.
Breakdown
彼he
はtopic particle
忙しいbusy
だろうprobably
Example 3
この本は面白いだろう。
Kono hon wa omoshiroi darou.
This book is probably interesting.
Breakdown
このthis
本book
はtopic particle
面白いinteresting
だろうprobably
Example 4
彼女は先生だろう。
Kanojo wa sensei darou.
She is probably a teacher.
Breakdown
彼女she
はtopic particle
先生teacher
だろうprobably

Related Grammar

Practice Exercises →
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