恐らく

Japanese
Kanji in this term
恐
おそ
Grade: S
kun’yomi

Etymology

Abbreviation of 恐らくは (osoraku wa), itself a contraction of obsolete 恐るらくは (osoruraku wa), composed of 恐る (osoru, “to fear”, obsolete earlier form of modern 恐れる osoreru) + らく (-raku, “state, act, or fact of doing”, nominalizing suffix) + は (wa, topic particle).[1][2] Compare English use of the term afraid, as in the phrases “I'm afraid so”, or “I'm afraid that ...”, to express a sense of probably.

Pronunciation

Adverb

恐らく (hiragana おそらく, rōmaji osoraku)

  1. probably, in all likelihood

Usage notes

The term osoraku expresses a higher degree of certainty than tabun.

Synonyms

References
  1. 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
  2. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
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