Probably That's Right, Right?

In this Topic, we're going to learn how to change the tone of our sentences with でしょう and だろう. Both can be used to mean something similar to 'probably' or 'right?', although with more varied nuances.

We'll also compare both with ね, which may appear similar but actually serves a different social function.

このトピックに出てくる文法

今すぐ学習する

でしょう
Right?, Probably, Isn't it?
でしょう is a conjugated form of です, and can also be seen in the contracted form でしょ (more casual). でしょう is regularly translated to 'right?', or 'probably' in English. In a broader sense it just expresses an assertion about something (like です), that the speaker assumes the listener would probably agree with.
In the above, we can see that, in both examples, the speaker is looking for confirmation that/affirming that the listener agrees with them.

As でしょう is a conjugation of です (the polite form of だ), it usually follows the plain form of words, rather than words using ～ます. However, in very formal situations, or older literature ～ますでしょう may be seen.
Caution

Despite sounding relatively low confidence, using でしょう implies that the speaker has some form of information that makes them believe that the (A) statement is true.
N5 文法
だろう
Right?, Probably, Isn't it?
だろう is a conjugated form of だ, and can also be seen in the contracted form だろ (more casual). だろう expresses that the speaker thinks that something is true (assertion/expectation), and also that the listener would probably agree with them. This comes across like 'right?', or 'probably' in English.
だろう carries exactly the same meaning as でしょう (the polite equivalent). However, due to だ being more casual than です, だろう is also considered to be more casual/masculine than でしょう.
Caution

While だろう is usually used when the speaker has some sort of information that would support their assertion, it can also be used simply when the speaker 'feels' that something is true.

In this kind of sentence that expresses a 'feeling' or 'hunch', だろう comes across as quite low confidence. The speaker's tone of voice will often reveal how confident だろう is.
N5 文法

詳細

Let's take a closer look at the two modes of でしょう and だろう (and how intonation affects the meaning), and also how they differ from the sentence-ending particle ね.

Definitely Maybe

When said with a flat or falling intonation, でしょう and だろう express quite a high degree of probability. As mentioned in the grammar point information, there is normally some information or reason behind the statement. In particular, だろう can actually come across as quite a strong assertion.

When said with a rising intonation, like a question, then でしょう or だろう are used to look for confirmation.

ね-Sayers

As we've just learned, でしょう and だろう can come across similar to 'right?' or 'don't you think?'. But didn't we already see this exact same thing with the sentence-ending particle ね? Although they seem close when translated, the nuance is actually quite distinct in Japanese.

ね is used when it is assumed that the other person already feels the same way, and one is looking for agreement on a shared feeling. On the other hand, でしょう and だろう are used for logical arguments or predictions.

In fact, it is even possible to use でしょう or だろう together with ね, to show empathetic agreement (with ね) based on a logical guess/imagination (with でしょう or だろう).