Japanese edit

Kanji in this term
おそ
Grade: S
kun’yomi

Etymology edit

Abbreviation of (おそ)らくは (osoraku wa), itself a contraction of obsolete (おそ)るらくは (osoruraku wa), composed of (おそ) (osoru, to fear, obsolete earlier form of modern (おそ)れる (osoreru)) + らく (-raku, state, act, or fact of doing, nominalizing suffix) + (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 edit

Adverb edit

(おそ)らく (osoraku

  1. probably, in all likelihood

Usage notes edit

  • Usually written in hiragana.
  • The term osoraku expresses a higher degree of certainty than tabun.
  • Often used when predicting a negative outcome.

Synonyms edit

References edit

  1. ^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典(新装版) [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. 2.0 2.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006) 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN