はずだ / かもしれない / らしい

JLPT N4 Japanese self-study　·　~15 min　·　Should be / Might be / Seems like (heard)

'He should be here by now.' 'It might rain.' 'I heard she's moving abroad.' Three different levels of certainty — and each one carries a different nuance about how you know.

What you'll learn

• はずだ: should be ~ (logical expectation from evidence)
• はずがない: there's no way ~ (strong impossibility)
• かもしれない: might / maybe | らしい: seems / I heard that

How to study “はずだ / かもしれない / らしい”

“はずだ / かもしれない / らしい” (Should be / Might be / Seems like (heard)) is a JLPT N4 chapter of our free Japanese self-study course, about 15 min. You learn by doing — flashcard drills and fill-in-the-blank quizzes graded on the spot — completely free, with no sign-up and no ad wall. Once it clicks, read the matching in-depth explainer over in Grammar.