N5 · Phrase guide
Tabun — Softening "Maybe" in Japanese
たぶん
たぶん
Maybe / probably
Nuance
Placed before the predicate to hedge. Japanese prefers soft certainty over blunt yes/no in many social contexts.
Cultural note
たぶん大丈夫 means "probably fine"—often used to reassure without overcommitting.
Examples
たぶん大丈夫です。
It's probably fine.
Reassuring a worried friend
たぶん雨が降る。
It'll probably rain.
Casual weather guess
Common mistakes
- Giving absolute yes/no answers when たぶん would soften appropriately
- Using たぶん in formal written reports without おそらく