might, may, possibly

Plain form plus かもしれない expresses possibility, weaker than でしょう. It attaches directly to nouns and na-adjective stems without だ. The polite form is かもしれません, and in casual speech it shortens to かも.

Examples

• 午後ごごは雨あめが降ふるかもしれません。

  Gogo wa ame ga furu kamoshiremasen.

  It might rain in the afternoon.

• 彼かれはもう家いえに帰かえったかもしれない。

  Kare wa mou ie ni kaetta kamoshirenai.

  He may have already gone home.

Vocabulary in these examples

• 午後 p.m.; afternoon
• 雨 rain
• 降る to fall (rain, snow)
• 彼 he, him
• もう already; more
• 家 house; home

Related patterns · Appearance, hearsay, and conjecture

• 〜そうだ（様態） looks like, seems about to
• 〜そうだ（伝聞） I heard that, they say that
• 〜ようだ it seems that, it appears that
• 〜らしい apparently, it seems (based on what one heard)
• 〜みたいだ seems like, looks like, is like
• 〜がる / 〜がっている to show signs of (another person's feeling)