はずです — Should be / Ought to (expectation)
Polite form of はずだ. Expresses logical expectation based on evidence or knowledge. "It should be / it ought to be, based on what I know."
Structure
[Plain form] + はずです
Examples
彼女はもう着いているはずです。
Kanojo wa mou tsuite iru hazu desu.
She should have arrived by now.
着いている (arrived, state) + はずです
この道路は今頃込んでいるはずです。
Kono douro wa imagoro konde iru hazu desu.
This road should be congested by now.
込んでいる (is congested) + はずです — expected from typical patterns
会議は三時に終わるはずです。
Kaigi wa sanji ni owaru hazu desu.
The meeting should end at three.
終わる (ends) + はずです — expectation based on the schedule
• Key Concept: はずです = polite はずだ. • Detail: はずでした = expected but wasn't (expectation that failed). • Summary: はずがありません = there's absolutely no way (polite denial).
Commonly confused with
The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones はずです is tested against.
vs べきです
はずです = logical expectation ('it should be so, I'd expect'); べきです = obligation/moral advice ('you should do it, it's the right thing').
vs でしょう / だろう
はずです expresses a confident inference grounded in specific evidence/reasoning; でしょう is a looser probability guess ('probably').
vs わけです
はずです = expectation before confirming; わけです = a conclusion that logically follows / 'that's why', explaining a fact already known.
More modal expressions
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