だろう／でしょう — Probability & Seeking Agreement
Placed at the end of a sentence to express probability ('probably', 'I think') or, with rising intonation, to seek agreement ('right?'). だろう is casual; でしょう is polite.
Structure
[Plain-form sentence] + だろう (casual) / でしょう (polite)
Examples
明日は雨でしょう。
Ashita wa ame deshou.
It will probably rain tomorrow.
Falling intonation = stating a probability.
これ、美味しいでしょう？
Kore, oishii deshou?
This is delicious, isn't it?
Rising intonation = seeking agreement or confirmation.
彼は今日も忙しいだろう。
Kare wa kyou mo isogashii darou.
He is probably busy today too.
Plain adjective 忙しい + だろう — the casual counterpart of でしょう.
• でしょう implies fairly high confidence based on knowledge or intuition, but not certainty — weather forecasts use it constantly. • With nouns/な-adjectives, attach directly (雨でしょう, 静かでしょう); no だ before だろう/でしょう.
Commonly confused with
The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones だろう／でしょう is tested against.
vs かもしれない
かもしれない = 'might / maybe' (lower confidence, ~50%); でしょう expresses higher confidence ('probably').
vs と思う
と思う states YOUR personal opinion ('I think'); でしょう makes a more general/objective prediction and can also invite the listener's agreement.
More expressions
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