Tabun: Japanese people use it when uncertain if a thing happens (2024)

November 20, 2021 By Masaki Mori

What does “tabun” mean in Japanese?

Native speakers say “tabun” to mean ‘maybe’ or ‘probably’ in Japanese. They use it when they are uncertain if something happens or if something is true. So, not only its meanings but its usages as well are very similar to those of the English words, “maybe” and “probably”.

Probably, some Japanese learners know this word as it is sometimes used in Japanese conversations. In this blog post, however, I will explain this word in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners understand “tabun” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!

Contents

• Definitions and meanings of “tabun”
• What does “tabun” literally mean in Japanese?
  • Example #1: how to say “maybe” in Japanese
  • Example #2: another usage of “tabun”
• Summary

Definitions and meanings of “tabun”

Let me start with the definitions and meanings of “tabun”.

• tabun – 多分 (たぶん) : an adverb of probability meaning ‘maybe’ or ‘probably’ in Japanese. This can also work as a noun to mean ‘a large amount or number (of something)’.

“Tabun” can work as both an adverb and a noun in Japanese, but native speakers use it mainly as an adverb to say “maybe” or “probably” especially in speaking.

The definitions and meanings are not that difficult, I think. To understand this word more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.

What does “tabun” literally mean in Japanese?

The kanji expression of “tabun” consists of the following two kanji characters:

• 多 : a kanji character often used as a prefix to add the meaning of ‘many’, ‘a lot of’, ‘much’, or such in Japanese.
• 分 : a kanji character used to mean ‘part’ or ‘portion’ in Japanese. This kanji can also be found in other words like “hanbun” and “jibun“.

From these two kanji characters, we can understand that “tabun” literally means ‘many parts’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation seems to be in line with its actual meanings as a noun. And besides, this interpretation is very close to its meanings as an adverb. Being relatively high in probability means occupying a large part on the probability scale.

When we meet new kanji expressions, we should check their kanji characters in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, kanji characters tell us a lot about the meanings of the expressions they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “tabun” though the detailed kanji check above.

So far, I’ve explained the definitions and meanings of “tabun” together with its kanji characters. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.

Example #1: how to say “maybe” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
• no – の : a case particle used after a noun or pronoun to make its possessive case. In the example, this is used after “watashi” to make its possessive case, “watashi no“, which means ‘my’ in Japanese.
• kareshi – 彼氏 (かれし) : a noun meaning ‘boyfriend’ in Japanese.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “watashi no kareshi” to make the subject in the sentence.
• okure – 遅れ (おくれ) : one conjugation of the verb, “okureru”, which means ‘to be late’ or ‘to be delayed’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• te – て : a conjunctive particle used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its te form. In the example, this is used after “okure” to make its te form, “okure te”.
• kuru – 来る (くる) : a verb meaning ‘to come’ in Japanese.

This is a typical usage of “tabun”. In this example, it works as an adverb in the middle of the sentence to say “maybe” in Japanese. Japanese native speakers often use it like this.

Example #2: another usage of “tabun”

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• ash*ta – 明日 (あした) : a noun meaning ‘tomorrow’ in Japanese.
• ii – 良い (いい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘good’ in Japanese. In the example, this works in front of “hi” to describe it.
• hi – 日 (ひ) : a noun meaning ‘day’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Learn more about Japanese plural.
• ni – に : a case particle used to say what someone or something becomes after a change or action. In the example, this is used after the noun phrase, “ii hi”, to say what “ash*ta” will become.
• naru – なる : a verb meaning ‘to become’, ‘to turn’, ‘to get’, or just ‘to be’ in Japanese.

This is another typical usage of “tabun”. In the example, it works at the beginning of the sentence to mean ‘maybe’ in Japanese. When we want to say “maybe” in Japanese, anyway, this adverb is always a very good option.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the definitions and meanings of “tabun” in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.

• tabun – 多分 (たぶん) : an adverb of probability meaning ‘maybe’ or ‘probably’ in Japanese. This can also work as a noun to mean ‘a large amount or number (of something)’. These two kanji characters mean ‘many’ and ‘part’ respectively, so this word literally means ‘many parts’ in Japanese. This literal interpretation seems to be in line with the actual meanings as a noun. And besides, this interpretation is very close to the meanings as an adverb. Being relatively high in probability means occupying a large part on the probability scale.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.