Today, we’re going to learn how to say “probably”, “right?”, and several other phrases in Japanese, and we’ll also learn some of Kenshi Yonezu’s lyrics and how warn your friends when you hear a ghost. This article goes over the topic covered in this video. I recommend you watch the video first and read this whenever you want to review.
Using でしょう and だろう
でしょう(deshou) and だろう(darou) are very common particles. Many textbooks tell you that they mean “probably” when you put them after a noun, adjective, or verb. However, they have several other uses.
You may have heard of the Japanese singer Kenshi Yonezu, whose song Peace Sign is featured in the anime Boku no Hero Academia. He also performed the song Lemon, the music video of which has over 578 million views on YouTube.
In Yonezu’s song でしょましょ(Desho Masho), he sings:
如何でしょあたしのダンスダンスダンス
Ikaga deshou atashi no dansu dansu dansu
How is it? My dance dance dance
あたし(atashi) = another way to say 私(watashi, I/me), mostly used by young women
如何(ikaga) = a more formal way to say どう(dou), or “how?” Used mainly in business situations.
Here, Yonezu uses でしょうか is used as a more formal way to say ですか, while いかが(ikaga) is a more formal way to say どう, and is used mainly in business situations.
どうですか
Dou desu ka
How is it? (standard formal)
いかがでしょうか
Ikaga deshou ka
How is it? (business formal)
いかがでしょ is polite, but also a little playful, so it’s less formal than いかがですか.
いかがでしょ
Ikaga desho
How is it? (formal, slightly feminine)
仕事はどうですか。
Shigoto wa dou desu ka.
How is your work?
体調はどうですか。
Taichou wa dou desu ka.
How is your health?
この色はどうですか。
Kono iro wa dou desu ka.
How about this color?
お茶でもどうですか。
O-cha demo dou desu ka.
How about/Would you like tea or something?
お飲み物はいかがですか/いかがでしょうか。
O-nomimono wa ikaga desu ka/ikaga deshou ka.
How about/Would you like something to drink?
Let’s look at the next line of Yonezu’s song:
ねえどうでしょ？それなりでしょ？
Nee dou desho? Sore nari desho?
Hey, how is it? It’s decent, right?
In the first sentence, どうでしょ is used the same as the previous line, to mean “How is it?” However, in the second sentence, Yonezu wants the listener to agree to agree that his dance is decent. Similarly, you can use でしょ when you want the listener to agree with you.
でしょう/でしょ & だろう/だろ
Deshou/desho & darou/daro
I assume; Probably; Right? Isn’t it? I wonder
Yonezu uses でしょ again when he sings about how he worked hard to learn how to dance, and he wants the listener to tell him that he’s amazing.
一人きり見よう見まねで憶えたよ
Hitori kiri miyou mimane de oboeta yo
I learnt all by myself by watching and imitating.
凄いでしょ?
Sugoi desho?
Amazing, right?
Using でしょう and ね
When you want the listener to agree with you, instead of でしょう, you can also use ね(ne).
凄いでしょ?
Sugoi desho?
Amazing, right?
凄いね。
Sugoi ne.
Amazing, right?
They both mean the same thing, but でしょ sounds more pushy, like you really want the listener to agree with you. You can think of it like saying “I told you so.”
Another difference is that ね is used for things that you experience for the first time. For example, suppose you and your friend go to a 夏祭り(natsu matsuri, summer festival). As you watch the fireworks bursting in the sky, you say to your friend:
きれいだね。
Kirei da ne.
Beautiful, isn’t it?
In this case, it wouldn’t make sense to use でしょ unless you saw the fireworks before and knew that they were going to be beautiful, and you want your friend to agree with you.
As another example, suppose you and your friend go to a restaurant for the first time, and you say:
おいしいね。
Oishii ne.
Delicious, isn’t it?
Now suppose you have been to this restaurant before, and you told your friend before that the food is delicious. You can say to your friend now:
おいしいでしょ？
Oishii desho?
Didn’t I tell you it’s delicious?
As another example, suppose you have a cute cup, and you want to tell your friend about how cute it is.
このコップかわいいでしょ？
Kono koppu kawaii desho?
Isn’t this cup cute?
Or maybe you don’t own this cup, but you’re in a store and just saw it for the first time. In this case, you can use ね.
このコップかわいいね？
Kono koppu kawaii ne?
Isn’t this cup cute?
When you want to show something off to your friends, you can use this common phrase:
いいでしょ？
Ii desho?
Great, isn’t it?/Aren’t you jealous?
Sometimes you will hear men use だろう and だろ.
いいだろう。
Ii darou?
Great, right? Aren’t you jealous?
You can also just use 羨ましい(urayamashii, jealous).
羨ましい？
Urayamashii?
Aren’t you jealous?
On the other hand, if you’re jealous of your friend, you can say:
いいな！
Ii na!
Must be nice!/I’m so jealous!
でしょ is used by both men and women, while だろう is used by men, and can sound rude in some situations.
Example Sentences
はい、これ、プレゼント！ピンク、好きでしょ？
Hai, kore, purezento! Pinku, suki desho?
Here you go! This is a present for you! You like pink, right?
え、あー、ありがとう。うん。まあまあ好き・・・
E, aa, arigatou. Un. Maamaa suki…
Eh? Ah… Thanks. Yeah. I kind of like it…
あれ？！この前、ピンクのシャツ着てたでしょ？
Are?! Kono mae, pinku no shatsu kiteta desho?
What?! You were wearing a pink shirt the other day, right?
あ、誰かピアノ弾いてる。
A, dare ka piano hiiteru.
Oh, someone is playing a piano.
ピアノ？
Piano?
Piano?
え？聞こえるでしょ？
E? Kikoeru desho?
Huh? You can hear it, right?
聞こえないよ。
Kikoenai yo.
I don’t hear it.
幽霊だああああ！
Yuurei daaaaa!
It’s a ghost!
You can also use でしょ by itself.
あー、これ、難しい。
Aa, kore, muzukashii.
Ah, this is difficult!
でしょ？
Desho?
Right?
わぁ、この寿司、おいしい。
Waa, kono sushi, oishii.
Wow, this sushi is delicious.
だろ？
Daro?
Right?
言ったでしょ？
Itta desho?
Didn’t I tell you?/ I told you so.
手を放せって言っただろ！
Te wo hanasette itta daro!
I told you to let go of my hand!
*だろsounds more harsh than でしょ.
これ持ってるでしょ！
Kore motteru desho!
You know you already have this.
もう時間ないでしょ！
Mou jikan nai desho!
You know we don’t have time.
違うでしょ！
Chigau desho!
You know that’s wrong!
何か臭い…おならしただろ。
Nani ka kusai… onara shita daro.
Something smells… You farted, didn’t you?
By the way, if you raise the intonation at the end of しょ, the sentence turns into a question.
違うでしょ？
Chigau deSHO?
It’s wrong, right?
Using でしょう and だろう when Speculating
Another way to use でしょう and だろう is to say “probably”. Many textbooks use this sentence as an example:
明日は雨が降るでしょう。
Ashita wa ame ga furu deshou.
It will probably rain tomorrow.
台風が来るでしょう。
Taifuu ga kuru deshou.
A typhoon will probably come.
雪が降るでしょう。
Yuki ga furu deshou.
It will probably snow.
このレストランは高いでしょう。
Kono resutoran wa takai deshou.
This restaurant is probably expensive.
Again,でしょう can be shortened to でしょ when you speak informally. でしょうis used by both men and women, but men also use だろう and だろ. In addition, だろうcan be used in writing by both men and women, but it’s mostly men who use だろう when speaking.
Again, if you raise the intonation at the end of でしょう, it turns into a question.
このレストランは高いでしょう。
Kono resutoran wa takai deSHO.
This restaurant is expensive, right?
このレストランは高いだろ。
Kono resutoran wa takai daro.
This restaurant is probably expensive, right?
この本、読むのにどのくらいかかりますか？
Kono hon, yomu no ni dono kurai kakarimasu ka?
How long will it take to read this book?
その本は薄いですから、一日で読めるでしょう。
Sono hon wa usui desu kara, ichi nichi de yomeru deshou.
That book is thin, so you can probably read it in a day.
あつし、ちゃんと時間通りに来るかな？
Atsushi, chanto jikan doori ni kuru ka na?
あつし、ちゃんと時間通りに来ますかね？
Atushi, chanto jikan doori ni kimasu ka ne?(formal)
I wonder if Atsushi will come on time like he’s supposed to?
あいつのことだから、いつも通り遅れるだろ。
Aitsu no koto dakara, itsumo doori okureru daro.
あいつのことだから、いつも通り遅れるでしょ。
Aitsu no koto dakara, itsumo doori okureru desho.
It’s Atsushi we’re talking about, he’ll probably be late as usual.
あいつ (aitsu) = used to talk about a third person, is slightly rude.
The Difference between でしょう and 多分
Now, you may be wondering what’s the difference between でしょう and 多分(tabun), which means “probably”.
First ,多分 is used mainly in informal speech, while でしょう is preferred when speaking formally. Secondly, 多分 can’t be used when you’re speculating about the listener’s thoughts or feelings.
疲れているでしょう。
Tsukareteiru deshou.
You must be tired.
❌ 多分疲れてる。
Tabun tsukareteru.
You’re probably tired.
However, you can use 多分 to talk about a third person who is not part of the conversation.
⭕️ あつしは多分疲れてる。
Atsushi wa tabun tsukareteru.
Atsushi is probably tired.
If you watch a lot of anime, you may have heard this line:
辛かったでしょ。一人で寂しかったでしょ。
Tsurakatta desho. Hitori de sabishikatta desho.
It must’ve been tough. You must’ve been sad all alone.
でももう大丈夫。私があなたを守るよ。
Demo mou daijoubu. Watashi ga anata wo mamoru yo.
But it’s okay now. I’ll protect you.
Using でしょうか When Speaking Formally
Lastly, you can add か to でしょう when you’re speaking extra formally. This is important in business when you are talking to a client.
何でしょうか。
Nan deshou ka.
What is it?
これは何でしょうか。
Kore wa nan deshou ka.
May I ask you what this is?
どちら様でしょうか。
Dochira-sama deshou ka.
May I ask with whom I am speaking?
お飲み物はいかがでしょうか。
O-nomimono wa ikaga deshou ka.
Would you like something to drink?
月曜日はいかがでしょうか。
Getsuyoubi wa ikaga deshou ka.
How does Monday work?
In the anime Psycho-Pass, Akane uses this often when she talks to her superiors. In the first episode, when she first joins the police, she says:
あの！監視官の宜野座伸元さんでしょうか！
Ano! Kanshikan no Ginoza Nobuchika-san deshou ka!
Excuse me! Are you Inspector Nobuchika Ginoza?
でしょうか can also be used when you wonder about something and want to ask “What do you think?”
本当に盗んだんでしょうか。
Hontou ni nusundan deshou ka.
I wonder if he really stole it…(What do you think?)
*You can learn about んだ(~nda) in this video.
Using だろう When Wondering to Yourself
Lastly, there is one case where you can use だろう. You can pair だろう with a question word like 何(nani) when you are wondering to yourself. When you use だろうlike this, it’s not masculine, and men and women both use it this way.
何/誰/いつ/どこ + だろう
nani/dare/itsu/doko + darou
I wonder… what/who/when/where
何でだろう。
Nande darou.
何でかな。
Nande ka na.
I wonder why.
今日の晩ご飯は何だろう。
Kyou no bangohan wa nan darou.
I wonder what is for dinner today.
次のテストはいつだろう。
Tsugi no tesuto wa itsu darou.
I wonder when the next test is.
Today, we learned that でしょう can have all these meanings:
- “Probably” or “I assume”
- A more formal version of ですか
- “Right?” or “I told you so”
- “What do you think?”
- “I wonder”
- When you raise the intonation at the end, it turns the sentence into a question.
That’s a lot to remember, but でしょう and だろう are really common, so if you keep practicing, you’ll sound more like a native. Thanks for reading until the end!
