でしょう details
write + probably
kaku deshou
probably; I suppose; right?
meaning: will probably write
明日は全国的に晴れるでしょう。
ashita wa zenkokuteki ni hareru deshou.
Tomorrow it will probably clear up across the country. formal
この店のラーメン、おいしいでしょ？
kono mise no raamen, oishii desho?
This place's ramen is good, right? casual
- contraction
Examples
probably; I suppose — a prediction the speaker cannot verify
明日は全国的に晴れるでしょう。
ashita wa zenkokuteki ni harerudeshou.
Tomorrow it will probably clear up across the country. formal
田中さんはもう家に着いているでしょう。
tanaka-san wa mou ie ni tsuite iru deshou.
Tanaka is probably home by now. neutral
right?; isn't it — rising intonation turns the guess toward the listener for confirmation
この店のラーメン、おいしいでしょ？
kono mise no raamen, oishii desho?
This place's ramen is good, right? casual
Formation
{V}でしょうattaches to dictionary form{N}でしょうattaches to nounna-adj + でしょうattaches to na-adjective
Variant notes
- でしょ — clipped in speech; with rising intonation it is the default "right?" — 高[たか]かったでしょ？
Notes
Related patterns
Similar
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.
Both tag a plain sentence with conjecture, but かな turns it into a question addressed to oneself (casual only), while でしょう states a likelihood and is at home in polite speech.
Both predict with confidence, but はずだ shows its work — a schedule, a habit, a calculation — while でしょう offers probability on the speaker's authority alone.
A certainty dial — かもしれない keeps the odds at or below a coin flip ("might"), でしょう leans clearly toward yes ("probably"); both slot into polite speech as かもしれません and でしょう.
Both soften an assertion, but と思う signs it — the speaker owns the judgment and answers for it — while でしょう presents the same content as impersonal likelihood; opinion surveys collect と思います, weather forecasts run on でしょう.