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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

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Related phrases

だいじょうぶですわかりました