probably; I suppose

Deshou expresses a guess or probability and softens a statement. It follows nouns, adjectives, and plain-form verbs. With rising intonation it can also ask for the listener's agreement.

Examples

• 明日あしたは雨あめでしょう。

  Ashita wa ame deshou.

  It will probably rain tomorrow.

• 田中たなかさんはもう家いえにいるでしょう。

  Tanaka san wa mou ie ni iru deshou.

  Tanaka is probably home already.

Vocabulary in these examples

• 明日 tomorrow
• 雨 rain
• もう already; more
• 家 house; home
• いる to exist (animate); to be

Related patterns · です and basic sentences

• 〜です X is Y (polite copula)
• 〜じゃありません is not (polite negative of です)
• 〜でした / 〜じゃありませんでした was / was not (past forms of です)
• 〜か question marker
• 〜ね / 〜よ sentence endings: agreement (ne) and new information (yo)