かもしれない — Might / Maybe (possibility)
Expresses a low-to-medium level of possibility (around 50% or less). Where でしょう/だろう sounds like a prediction, かもしれない sounds like you are floating one possible reality among several — with no commitment.
Structure
[Plain form / Noun / な-adj (no だ)] + かもしれない
Examples
明日は雨が降るかもしれません。
Ashita wa ame ga furu kamo shiremasen.
It might rain tomorrow.
降る (plain) + かもしれません (polite) = expresses possibility
彼はもう忘れているかもしれない。
Kare wa mou wasurete iru kamo shirenai.
He might have already forgotten.
忘れている + かもしれない = a floating possibility
その話、本当かもしれないよ。
Sono hanashi, hontou kamo shirenai yo.
That story might actually be true.
Noun 本当 + かもしれない — note: no だ inserted
• The weakest of the 'certainty' words — use it when you don't want to be held responsible for being wrong. • The 'da' Rule: Unlike でしょう, you MUST NOT insert だ before かもしれない with a noun or な-adjective: 元気かもしれない (NOT 元気だかもしれない). • Slang: In very casual speech it shrinks to just 〜かも at the end. (行くかも！= I might go!).
Commonly confused with
The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones かもしれない is tested against.
vs でしょう / だろう
でしょう is a confident ~80% prediction; かもしれない is a hedged ~50%-or-less possibility you won't commit to.
vs はず (should / expected)
はず asserts a logically expected outcome ('it should be so'); かもしれない only raises it as one uncertain possibility.
vs に違いない (must be, no doubt)
に違いない is near-certain conviction; かもしれない is the opposite end — mere possibility.
More modal expressions
Study Japanese grammar on LenGaki
Everything on this page, free to browse
- 7,788 JLPT vocabulary words, N5 through N1, with readings and audio
- 2,057 kanji with on'yomi, kun'yomi and stroke-order practice
- 444 grammar points with examples and commonly-confused comparisons
- Full-length N5 and N4 mock exams, timed, with real listening audio
Get the Android app