～かもしれない
might / maybe
～かもしれない adds “might” or “maybe” to a statement. It attaches to the plain form of verbs and い-adjectives, and directly to nouns and な-adjectives (without だ).
Use it when you think something is possible but not certain. The polite form is かもしれません, and in casual speech it is often shortened to かも.
1. Saying something might happen
Put かもしれない after a plain-form verb to mark a guess about the future or the present.
明日雨が降るかもしれない。
“It might rain tomorrow.”
- 明日（あした）= tomorrow
- 雨（あめ）= rain
- が = subject marker
- 降る（ふる）= to fall (rain)
- かもしれない = might
2. With nouns and adjectives
Nouns and な-adjectives attach directly, with no だ in between.
あの人は先生かもしれない。
“That person might be a teacher.”
- あの = that (over there)
- 人（ひと）= person
- は = topic marker
- 先生（せんせい）= teacher
- かもしれない = might be
How to form it
Plain form + かもしれない (nouns and な-adjectives attach directly, without だ)
- 降る（ふる）= to fall (rain) → 降るかもしれない（ふるかもしれない）= might fall
- 来ない（こない）= will not come → 来ないかもしれない（こないかもしれない）= might not come
- 先生（せんせい）= teacher → 先生かもしれない（せんせいかもしれない）= might be a teacher
Key idea
かもしれない literally means something like “one cannot know whether”. Use it for low-confidence guesses about anything you are not sure of, “maybe yes, maybe no”.
Other N4 grammar
Updated .