だろう details
write + probably
kaku darou
probably; I suppose (plain style)
meaning: will probably write
誘えば、彼も来るだろう。
sasoeba, kare mo kuru darou.
If we invite him, he will probably come too. neutral
な、言った通りだろ？
na, itta toori daro?
See? Just like I told you, right? casual
- contraction
Examples
probably — plain-style conjecture, the default engine of written analysis
誘えば、彼も来るだろう。
sasoeba, kare mo kurudarou.
If we invite him, he will probably come too. neutral
この問題は専門家でも解けないだろう。
kono mondai wa senmonka demo tokenai darou.
Even an expert probably couldn't solve this problem. neutral
来年には状況も変わっているだろう。
rainen ni wa joukyou mo kawatte iru darou.
By next year the situation will likely have changed too. neutral
right?; come on — clipped だろ？ demanding the listener's agreement, rough and casual
な、言った通りだろ？
na, itta toori daro?
See? Just like I told you, right? casual
Formation
{V}だろうattaches to dictionary form{N}だろうattaches to nounna-adj + だろうattaches to na-adjective
Variant notes
- だろ — clipped and blunt — お前[まえ]も行[い]くだろ？ skews rough and masculine
Notes
Related patterns
Similar
Both translate as "should/probably", but はずだ stakes the claim on reasoning or evidence while だろう is an unbacked guess — swapping them changes how accountable the speaker is for being wrong.
Same conjecture in different clothes — でしょう belongs to polite (です/ます) speech, だろう to plain style; spoken bare だろう skews masculine and blunt, while written Japanese uses it as the neutral default.
Plain-style conjecture siblings — だろう asserts a likelihood and is the written default, while かな turns the same guess into a question murmured half to oneself; かな is near-exclusively spoken and casual, and its interrogative twin だろうか reads written and stiff where かな reads soft.