かもしれない

Auxiliary Adjective (い) (Basic ㊦ 173)

Can't tell if ~

Equivalent: Might

午後雨が降るかもしれない・かもしれません。: It might rain in the afternoon.
あの先生の授業はつまらないかもしれない・かもしれません。: That teacher's class might be dull.
京都の桜はまだ奇麗かもしれない・かもしれません。: The cherry blossoms in Kyoto might still be beautiful.
今年の冬は大変寒くなるかもしれません。: It might be very cold this winter.
あの人は今日のパーティーのことを忘れたかもしれません。: He might have forgotten about today's party.
この映画はあなたにつまらないかもしれません。: This movie might be uninteresting for you.
中国語の文法は日本語の文法より簡単かもしれない。: Chinese grammar might be simpler than Japanese grammar.
あれは鈴木先生かもしれないよ。: That might be Professor Suzuki.

Formation

(i) {V/Adjective い} informal	かもしれない
	{話す /話した} かもしれない	Someone might talk/might have talked
	{高い /高かった} かもしれない	Something might be high/might have been high
(ii) {Adjective な stem/ Noun}	{Ø/だった} かもしれない
	{静か/静かだった} かもしれない	Something might be quiet/might have been quiet
	{先生/先生だった} かもしれない	Someone might be a teacher/might have been a teacher

Notes

【Related Expressions】

I. The probability of accuracy predicted by a かもしれない sentence is lower than that of a だろう sentence and much lower than that of a に違いいない sentence as diagrammed below:

low probability				high probability
	かもしれない	< だろう	< に違いない

The Japanese weatherman on radio or TV, for example, employs でしょう (the formal version of だろう) in his forecasts as in the following:

[1]

関東地方、あすは小雨が一日中降るでしょう。
Tomorrow, in the Kanto area it will probably be drizzling all day long.

II. Verbます/Adjective(い/な) stem そうだ is used when the speaker's conjecture is based primarily on visual or other perceptual evidence, but かもしれない is not; rather the latter is used when that conjecture is based on logical reasoning. Thus,

[2]

あつ！このケーキ(は)おいしそうですね。
Look, this cake looks good, doesn't it?

*あつ！このケーキ(は)おいしいかもしれませんね。
*Look, this cake might be good, might it not?

(⇨ ようだ)