| The dubitative form is used to express doubt, or an assumption.
The dubitative is very closely related to the subjunctive in Japanese.
Rentaikei + かな (ka na) or かなあ (ka naa)
This is a simple dubitative. It illustrates a certain amount of
doubt you have concerning the statement you just made. かなあ (ka naa)
conveys a larger amount of doubt than かな (ka na).
| |
仙台に行けるかな。 (Sendai ni ikeru ka
na.)
I wonder if I can go to Sendai.
兄ちゃんが買い物しましたかなあ。 (Nii-chan ga kaimono shimashita
ka naa.)
I doubt that my brother did the groceries. |
| |
だろう(darou) and でしょう (deshou)
Since だ (da) and です (desu) are contractions of である (de aru) and
でございます (de gozaimasu), and have the same contractions as ある (aru)
and ございます (gozaimasu) have in the subjunctive
form.
| Rentaikei |
Subjunctive |
| である |
de aru |
であろう |
de arou |
| だ |
da |
だろう |
darou |
| でございます |
de gozaimasu |
でございましょう |
de gozaimashou |
| です |
desu |
でしょう |
deshou |
They should be translated as "it probably is". だろう (darou)
and でしょう (deshou) can be combined with verbal adjectives.
| |
マイク君が来るでしょうね。 (Maiku-kun ga kuru deshou
ne.)
Mike is coming, right?
高いだろう。 (Takai darou.)
It must be expensive.
寒かったでしょう。 (Samukatta deshou.)
It must have been cold. |
| |
The dubitative in the past tense
The ren'youkei + たろう (tarou) is used for the past tense of the subjunctive
form. It undergoes contractions when combined with group 4 (or yodan-katsuyou)
verbs. Please refer to the ren'youkei
+ たろう (tarou) page for these contractions as there are too many
to list here.
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花を買ったろう。 (Hana ga kattarou.)
He's probably bought the flowers.
新しかったろう。 (Atarashikattarou.)
It was probably new.
雨が降りましたろう。 (Ame ga furimashitarou.)
It has probably rained.
赤かったろうです。 (Akakattarou
desu.)
It was probably red. |
| |
The negative subjunctive form
The rentaikei + まい (mai) is the negative form of the subjunctive
form. まい (mai) is placed after the main (or closing) verb, also
when that closing verb is in the polite form, but cannot be combined
with verbal adjectives.
Group 2 verbs are often contracted or abbreviated by removing the
final る (ru).
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この先はまあ話しますまい。 (Kono saki wa maa hanashimasumai.)
I'd rather not tell you the rest.
彼を待つまい。 (Kare wo matsumai.)
I don't think they'll wait for him. / They probably won't
wait for him.
あれはできるまい。 (Are wa dekirumai.)
I don't think that's possible. / That probably won't be possible.
食べ物ではあるまい。 (Tabemono de wa arumai.)
I don't think that's food.
子供じゃあるまいし、それぐらい分かってるよ。
(Kodomo ja arumai shi, sore gurai wakatteru
yo.)
I'm quite aware of that, thank you very much. I'm not a child,
you know! |
| |
NOTE: When combining まい (mai) with
である (de aru), you should insert the particle は (wa) like in ではない
(de wa nai), since まい (mai) also is a negative form.
Rentaikei + そう (sou)
The rentaikei
+ そう (sou) is used to describe "hearsay". It is only
used for information you got from a third party. It is often followed
by a form of "de aru" (da / desu).
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雨が降るそうです。 (Ame ga furu sou
desu.)
I heard it's going to rain.
地下鉄が高いそうだ。 (Chikatetsu ga takai sou
da.)
I heard the subway is expensive.
日本製だそうだ。 (Nihonsei da sou
da.)
I heard it's Japanese-made. |
| |
Rentaikei + らしい (rashii)
The rentaikei
+ らしい (rashii) means "to seem" or "to be like".
らしい (rashii) is a verbal adjective and can be conjugated like any
other verbal adjective. For more information on conjugated and non-conjugated
adjectives check the adjectives
page.
らしい(rashii) can also be placed directly after nouns. In these cases
it should be translated as "it's typically" or "it's
just like".
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雨が降るらしい。 (Ame ga furu rashii.)
It appears to be raining.
彼が来ないらしいです。 (Kare ga konai rashii
desu.)
It seems like he's not coming. |
| |
Rentaikei + よう(な) (you na)
The rentaikei
+ よう(な) (you na) translates as "similar to" or "to
seem that". It is often followed by a form of "de aru"
(da / desu). よう (you) can also be written with the kanji 様 (you).
When combined with a verb, よう(な) (you na) describes an impression
you have.
| |
雨が降るようです。 (Ame ga furu you
desu.)
It appears to be raining.
新しいようだ。 (Atarashii you
da.)
It seems new. |
| |
Ren'youkei + そう(な) (sou na)
The ren'youkei
+ そう(な) (sou na), often followed by a form of "de aru"
(da / desu) is translated as "it looks like".
| |
雨が降りそうだ。 (Ame ga furisou
da.)
It looks like it's going to rain.
雨が降りそうな気がします。 (Ame ga furisou na
ki ga shimasu.)
I have the feeling it will rain. |
| |
When combining そう(な) (sou na) with a verbal adjective the く (ku)
is dropped:
濃く (koku = ren'youkei) → 濃くそう(な)
(koku +sou na) → 濃そう(な) (kosou na)
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美味しそうだ。 (Oishisou da.)
It looks tasty.
濃そうな汁です。 (Kosou na shiru
desu.)
It's a thick looking soup. |
| |
Two exceptions exist among the verbal adjectives: ない (nai), meaning
"there isn't" and いい (ii), meaning "to be good".
With these two verbal adjectives the く (ku) is replaced with さ (sa):
なく (naku = ren'youkei) → なくそう(な)
(naku +sou na) → なさそう(な) (nasasou na)
よく (yoku= ren'youkei) → よくそう(な)
(yoku +sou na) → よさそう(な) (yosasou na)
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田中君が来なさそうだ。 (Tanaka-kun ga konasasou
da.)
It looks like Tanaka won't be coming.
よさそうな辞書だ。 (Yosasou na jisho
da.)
The dictionary looks like it's a good one. |
| |
Related pages:
Rentaikei
+ か (ka)
Rentaikei
+ そう (sou)
Rentaikei
+ まい (mai)
Rentaikei
+ らしい (rashii)
Rentaikei
+ よう (you)
Ren'youkei
+ たろう (tarou)
Ren'youkei
+ そう (sou)
Mizenkei
+ う (u)
Subjunctive
forms |
