quizás

Galician

Alternative forms

• quizá
• quizais

Adverb

quizás

1. perhaps, maybe

   Synonyms: acaso, tal vez

Spanish

Etymology

From quizá.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Spain) /kiˈθas/ [kiˈθas]
• IPA^(key): (Latin America, Philippines) /kiˈsas/ [kiˈsas]
• Rhymes: -as
• Syllabification: qui‧zás

Adverb

quizás

1. maybe, perhaps

   Synonyms: quizá, tal vez

   Quizás luego.

   Maybe later.

   Quizás no vaya allá este verano.

   Perhaps I won't go there this summer.

   Quizás tenga que irme temprano.

   I might have to leave early.

Usage notes

• If a clause follows the adverb quizás, the verb in that clause can be either in the indicative form or in the subjunctive form:

Quizás María no viene hoy. / Quizás María no venga hoy. ― Perhaps María is not coming today.

According to the Royal Spanish Academy, both forms are equally valid and there is no difference in meaning between each form; that said, some native speakers may opt for one form over the other depending on certainty of the given statement (e.g. using the indicative with likely scenarios and educated guesses, and the subjunctive for purely speculative statements). In general, the subjunctive form is more commonly used than the indicative form in all contexts.

• However, if quizás comes after the corresponding verb, the verb must be in the indicative:

María no viene hoy quizás. ― María is not coming today, perhaps. (*María no venga hoy quizás would be considered nonstandard.)

• The same rules as above apply to the synonyms of quizás, such as tal vez, posiblemente, acaso and a lo mejor – although a lo mejor, unlike the rest, is in practice used almost exclusively in the indicative.

Further reading

• “quizás”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10