Judgement & Conjecture

Introduction

Japanese has precise ways to express different levels of certainty — from logical conclusions to educated guesses. These patterns show how confident you are about your statements.

Essential for discussions, debates, and expressing opinions.

Themes

All Japanese Grammar Intermediate in This Chapter (12)

1. ～べきだ べきだ An auxiliary expression meaning 'should' or 'ought to,' used to express the speaker's judgment or moral obligation that something is the ...
2. ～かろう かろう A literary auxiliary indicating the writer's conjecture or supposition, not based on any particular evidence. It is the written equivalen...
3. ～であろう であろう A formal auxiliary indicating the writer's conjecture or supposition, typically not based on specific evidence. It is the written/formal ...
4. ～まい まい An auxiliary expressing the speaker's negative volition (determination not to do something) or negative conjecture (probably won't happen).
5. ～わけだ わけだ A phrase used to present a logical conclusion or natural result, expressing 'that's why,' 'no wonder,' or 'it means that.' It frames a fa...
6. ～わけではない わけではない A phrase used to partially deny or correct an assumption, meaning 'it's not that...' or 'it doesn't mean that...' It softens a blanket st...
7. ～わけがない わけがない A phrase that negates the possibility of something being true, meaning 'there's no way that...' or 'it's impossible that...' It expresses...
8. ～わけにはいかない わけにはいかない A phrase indicating that one cannot do something due to social, moral, or external constraints, meaning 'I can't just...' or 'it wouldn't...
9. ～とは限らない とはかぎらない A phrase meaning 'not necessarily' or 'it isn't always the case that...' Used to challenge generalizations or assumptions by pointing out...
10. ～にほかならない にほかならない A formal phrase meaning 'nothing other than' or 'precisely because of.' It emphasizes that the stated reason or identity is the only corr...
11. ～と思われる とおもわれる A verb phrase indicating what the speaker or writer feels spontaneously or expressing a hesitant, indirect opinion. It translates as 'it ...
12. いかにも いかにも An adverb expressing the speaker's emotive conviction that something truly looks, sounds, or feels a certain way. It translates as 'indee...