How to say "maybe" in Japanese

• 多分たぶんJLPT N5approx.Common
  adverbThe everyday default for 'maybe' in its 'probably' sense: the speaker's estimate that something is fairly likely. Reach for this where English 'probably' would fit, such as guessing whether someone will come.
  君きみにはたぶんみんなわかっていることでしょう。↗

  I expect you know all about it.
• ひょっとするとCommon
  adverbCovers 'maybe' when raising a chance possibility, often something unexpected or not very likely: 'it's just possible that...'. A mimetic adverb suited to speculation rather than confident estimates.
  ひょっとすると明日あすは雨あめかもしれない。↗

  Perhaps it will rain tomorrow.
• もしかしたらJLPT N2approx.Common
  expression, adverbRaises a possibility that has just struck the speaker — 'maybe, just maybe...'. It suits hunches, hopes and worries rather than measured estimates of likelihood.
  この空模様そらもようだと、もしかしたら午後ごごにはひと雨あめ降ふるかもしれません。↗

  From the look of the sky, it may rain in the afternoon.
• もしかしてJLPT N1approx.Common
  adverbOften introduces a question or a sudden guess — 'Could it be that...?', 'by any chance?'. Use it when voicing a hunch about the person in front of you.
  ああ、もしかして名前なまえを呼よばれるのが恥はずかしいって？↗

  Ah, could it be you're embarrassed to be called by your first name?
• もしかするとJLPT N2approx.Common
  adverbEssentially interchangeable with もしかしたら: it presents something as a bare possibility — 'it's possible that...' — rather than a likelihood, and is a safe all-purpose way to open a speculative statement.
  もしかすると彼かれは明日あす来くるかもしれない。↗

  He might come tomorrow.

Use 多分 for the everyday 'maybe' that really means 'probably'; use 「ひょっとすると」, 「もしかしたら」, 「もしかして」 and 「もしかすると」 to raise a chance possibility, with 「もしかして」 leaning toward questions and the other three toward speculative statements.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• 多分たぶんprobably
• ひょっとするとperhaps
• もしかしたらperhaps
• もしかしてperhaps
• もしかするとperhaps
• かもねmaybe
• ことにするとperhaps
• もしかしperhaps
• ことによるとpossibly
• あるいはmaybe
• ワンチャンmaybe
• けだしpossibly
• よう(I) wonder (if)
• 大方おおかたprobably
• かhmm