maybe

English

Wikipedia

Alternative forms

• may-be
• mebbe (dialectal)

Etymology

From an ellipsis of it may be, equivalent to may +‎ be. Compare mayhap.

Pronunciation

• enPR: mā'bē, IPA: /ˈmeɪbi/, X-SAMPA: /"meIbi/

• Audio (US)

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• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪbi

Adverb

maybe (not comparable)

1. Modifies a verb, indicating a lack of certainty.
2. (as a pro-sentence) perhaps that is true (expressing no commitment to a decision or a neutral viewpoint to a statement)

Usage notes

• Do not confuse maybe with may be: "Maybe that's true", but "That may be true"

Synonyms

• (perhaps): mayhaps, peradventure, perhaps, possibly
• (as a pro-sentence): could be, mayhaps, might be, perhaps, possibly, that’s possible

Derived terms

• and I don't mean maybe

Translations

indicating a lack of certainty

• Albanian: ndoshta (sq)
• Alviri-Vidari: شاید (šāyed)
• Arabic: ربما (ar) (rúbbamaa), من الممكن (ar) (min al-múmkin)

  Egyptian Arabic: يمكن (yimkin)

• Armenian: միգուցե (hy) (miguc'e) 
• Basque: naski (eu)
• Bulgarian: може би (bg) (može bi) 
• Catalan: potser (ca)
• Chechen: хила тарло (xila tarlo)
• Cherokee: ᎠᏎᏱᎩ (chr) (aseyigi)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 或者 (waakjé), 有可能 (yáu hónàng)

  Mandarin: 也許 (cmn), 也许 (cmn) (yěxǔ), 或許 (cmn), 或许 (cmn) (huòxǔ), 或是 (cmn) (huòshì), 可能 (cmn) (kěnéng)

• Cornish: martesen (kw)
• Czech: asi (cs), možná (cs)
• Danish: måske (da)
• Dutch: misschien (nl), wellicht (nl), mogelijkerwijs (nl), mogelijk (nl)
• Estonian: võib-olla (et), ehk (et)
• Faroese: kanska (fo)
• Finnish: ehkä (fi), jospa (fi)
• French: peut-être (fr), peut-être que + indicative, il se peut que (fr) + subjunctive
• Galician: quizás (gl), tal vez (gl)
• Gallo: ventieil'
• Georgian: შესაძლებელია (ka) (šesadzlebelia) 
• German: vielleicht (de)
• Greek: ίσως (el) (ísos) 
• Hebrew: אולי (he) (ulai), יתכן (he) (yitakhen)
• Hungarian: talán (hu)
• Icelandic: kannski (is), kannske (is), máske (is), máski (is), ef til vill (is)
• Indonesian: barangkali (id)
• Irish: is dócha (ga), b'fhéidir (ga)

• Italian: forse (it), magari (it), chissà (it)
• Japanese: 多分 (ja) (たぶん, tábun), 若しや (ja) (もしや, moshiya), (...) かもしれない (ja) (kamo shirenai), (...) でしょう (ja) (deshō)
• Khmer: ប្រហែល (km) (bprə-hail)
• Korean: 아마 (ko) (ama), 아마도 (ko) (amado), 어쩌면 (ko) (eojjeomyeon)
• Kurdish:

  Sorani: ڕه‌نگه‌, له‌وانه‌یه‌

• Latin: fortasse (la)
• Latvian: varbūt (lv)
• Lithuanian: gal (lt)
• Maltese: forsi (mt)
• Mongolian: магадгүй (mn) (magadgüy) 
• North Frisian: flicht
• Norwegian: kanskje (no)
• Norwegian Nynorsk: kanskje (nn)
• Ojibwe: iindog
• Old English: weald þēah (ang), wēnunga (ang)
• Persian: شاید (fa) (šâyad)
• Polish: może (pl)
• Portuguese: talvez (pt)
• Romanian: poate (ro)
• Russian: может быть (ru) (móžet byt’) , возможно (ru) (vosmóžno) 
• Scots: mibbe
• Scottish Gaelic: 's dòcha (gd), 's mathaid (gd)
• Slovak: možno (sk), azda (sk), vari (sk)
• Slovene: mogóče (sl), mordà (sl)
• Spanish: quizá (es), tal vez (es), acaso (es)
• Swedish: kanske (sv), möjligen (sv), måhända (sv)
• Thai: คงจะ (kong jà)
• Turkish: belki (tr)
• Vietnamese: có lẽ (vi)
• Walloon: motoit (wa), kécfeye (wa), putete (wa)
• Welsh: dichon (cy), efallai (cy), ella (cy)

as a pro-sentence

• Arabic: ربما (ar) (rúbbamaa), من الممكن (ar) (min al-múmkin)
• Armenian: միգուցե (miguc'e)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 也許 (cmn), 也许 (cmn) (yěxǔ), 或許 (cmn), 或许 (cmn) (huòxǔ), 或是 (cmn) (huòshì), 可能 (cmn) (kěnéng)

• Czech: možná (cs)
• Danish: måske (da)
• Dutch: misschien, het zou kunnen, mogelijk
• Faroese: kanska (fo)
• Finnish: voi olla
• French: peut-être, c'est possible
• Gallo: ventieil'
• German: vielleicht (de), mag sein (de)

• Hebrew: אולי (ulai)
• Icelandic: kannski (is), kannske (is), máske (is), máski (is), ef til vill (is)
• Irish: b'fhéidir (ga)
• Italian: forse, può essere
• Japanese: 多分 (ja) (たぶん, tábun)
• Norwegian: kan hende (no), kanskje det (no)
• Portuguese: é possível (pt), talvez (pt)
• Russian: может быть (ru) (móžet byt’) , возможно (ru) (vosmóžno) 
• Scottish Gaelic: 's dòcha (gd), 's mathaid (gd)
• Slovak: možno (sk)
• Slovene: mogóče (sl)
• Spanish: es posible
• Swedish: kanske (sv), möjligen (sv) (if expressing doubts)

Adjective

maybe (comparative more maybe, superlative most maybe)

1. Possible; uncertain.

   Then add those may-be years thou hast to live ― Dryden.

Noun

maybe (plural maybes)

1. (informal) Something that is possibly true.
2. (informal) An answer that shows neither agreement nor disagreement.

   The results of the poll were inconclusive. We got two yeses, three nos, and four maybes.

Synonyms

• perhaps

Derived terms

• definite maybe

Anagrams

• abyme, beamy, embay