GrammarJLPT N5
→ may
Expressing Possibility (May / Might)
JLPT N5Sentence-ending expressionNeutral
かもしれない is used to express that something may or might be the case. It conveys uncertainty or speculation on the part of the speaker, indicating that a certain possibility exists but the speaker is not confident about it. The level of certainty is generally lower than expressions like だろう or でしょう, which lean more toward probability or expectation. かもしれない simply acknowledges that something is possible without making a strong prediction. It attaches to the plain form of verbs, adjectives, and nouns, and can be made polite by changing it to かもしれません. In casual speech, it is very commonly shortened to かも. Unlike らしい, which suggests the speaker has some evidence or hearsay to base their statement on, かもしれない is purely about acknowledging possibility and does not imply any particular source of information.
Examples
Example #1
明日は雨が降るかもしれない。
Here かもしれない is attached to the plain form of the verb 降る to express the speaker's speculation about a future possibility. The speaker does not know for certain whether it will rain, but acknowledges it as a possibility. This is one of the most common uses of かもしれない — expressing uncertainty about something that has not yet happened.It might rain tomorrow.
Structures
- Verb
- Verb (plain form) + かもしれない
- い-Adjective
- い-Adjective + かもしれない
- な-Adjective
- な-Adjective (stem) + かもしれない
- Noun
- Noun + かもしれない
Common mistakes
A very common mistake is inserting だ before かもしれない with な-adjectives and nouns — for example, saying 「静かだかもしれない」 or 「先生だかもしれない」 instead of the correct 「静かかもしれない」 and 「先生かもしれない」. Unlike だろう, which also drops だ in the same contexts, learners sometimes forget this rule with かもしれない. Another frequent error is confusing かもしれない with だろう / でしょう; while both express uncertainty, だろう implies a higher degree of probability or expectation, whereas かもしれない merely acknowledges a possibility. Finally, learners should be aware that in casual speech, かもしれない is very often shortened to just かも, and using the full form in very casual contexts can sound slightly stiff.
Related
かもしれませんだろうでしょうらしいかなはずだ