Grammar Info

N4 Lesson 7: 9/18

のだろうかI wonder...

Versions without ん/の are also acceptable but sound old-fashioned

Structure

Verb +（の(1)）+ だろうか
［い］Adjective +（の(1)）+ だろうか
［な］Adjective +（な + の(1)）+ だろうか
Noun +（な + の(1)）+ だろうか

(1) ん

Details

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    Standard

About ～のだろうか

When using だろう (the conjugated auxiliary verb) is grouped with か (the question particle), it presents the statement before it as something that the speaker is unsure about. In this way, it sounds similar to 'I wonder if (A)' in English.

To use this construction, the statement before だろうか must be nominalized (turned into a noun-phrase). This is done through the use of の, or なの (in the case of な-Adjectives and nouns).

Despite the grammatical rule relating to nominalization using の (or なの), this part of the phrase is often omitted.

だろうか is quite masculine, so in order to sound more polite/ladylike, でしょうか may also be used instead.

Caution

Although だろうか is quite masculine, it does not strictly mean that でしょうか is feminine. でしょうか may be used confidently by either women or men.

Fun Fact

Like だろう, だろうか may be used to ask a question, or simply to express the speaker's inner thoughts.

  • この人(ひと)が言(い)っていることは本当(ほんとう)なのだろうか。
    I wonder if what this person is saying is true. (Said while talking to oneself)
  • そこに息子(むすこ)を連(つ)れて行(い)っていいのだろうか？
    I wonder if I can take my son there. (Said while talking to oneself)

However, だろうか is most commonly used to express a personal 'I wonder', in a similar way to かな. Because of this, even if it is used as a question, the listener may assume that you are not specifically looking for an answer from them.

Examples

--:--

    彼(かれ)の都合(つごう)が悪(わる)いだろうか。

    I wonder if it is bad timing for him?

    もうすぐ時間(じかん)だろうか。

    I wonder if it is about time.

    練習(れんしゅう)したら、うまくなるだろうか。

    I wonder if I will get better at it if I practice.

    犯人(はんにん)が見(み)つかるだろうか。

    I wonder if the criminal will be found.

    この小屋(こや)に虫(むし)が居(い)るのだろうか。

    I wonder if there are any bugs in this storehouse.

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～のだろうか – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (6 in total)

  • Warrie

    Warrie

    What is the difference between のだろうか and かな?

  • Fuga

    Fuga

    Hey there @Warrie !

    They both mean the same thing, but they are used in different situations. かな is used in more casual situations, like texting and casual conversations, while のだろうか is usually used in writing. のだろうか is also casual, but かな sounds more casual, if that makes sense!

  • Warrie

    Warrie

    Makes sense, thank you! Maybe this info should be added to the explanations in BP. I had this question a couple of times with words with the same meaning and each time Google helped me out to explain the difference, in this case I just couldn’t find an answer.

    Or for example when I give かな as the answer and then I get a ‘let’s try a different grammatical structure here’ reply, change that into ‘let’s make it slightly more formal’ or something like that?

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