でしょう (deshou)

Related patterns8

Similar

だろう
でしょう is the polite guess, だろう the plain one, spoken だろう sounds male and blunt. Writing treats it as ordinary.
かな
かな turns a guess into a question addressed to oneself (casual only). でしょう states a likelihood, at home in polite speech.
はずだ
Both predict with confidence, but はずだ shows its work (a schedule, a habit, a calculation). でしょう offers probability on the speaker's authority alone.
か
ですか asks flat out, the everyday choice (これですか). でしょうか softens it, leaving room for doubt, and reaches upward (よろしいでしょうか).
かもしれない
かもしれない keeps the odds at fifty-fifty or lower, just "might". でしょう leans toward yes, more like "probably".
ね
ね assumes the listener already agrees, and asks them to say so (おいしいですね). でしょう instead presses for an unvoiced judgement, or just guesses (明日あしたは雨あめでしょう).
たぶん
でしょう puts the guess in the ending, and can stand alone. たぶん only adds to one, and the two often sit together (たぶん来くるでしょう).
と思おもう
と思おもう owns the opinion, and you stand by it. でしょう instead states it as a plain likelihood, with no owner.

Same meaning15

probably; might; should be

だろうprobably; I suppose (plain style)attaches at
はずだshould; ought to; is supposed toattaches at
かもしれないmight; may possiblyattaches at
かなI wonder; maybe (wondering aloud)attaches at
かねないcould well (and it wouldn't be good); there's a real chance thatattaches at
まいsurely won't; I shall never — the classical negative of だろう and of （よ）うattaches at
ないとも限かぎらないyou can't rule out that it will happen; it may happen anywayattaches at
に違ちがいないmust be; surely is (a confident conclusion)attaches at
に決きまっているof course it is; is bound to be — treated as beyond argumentattaches at
に相違そういないbeyond doubt; there is no doubt that (written, formal)attaches at
恐おそれがあるthere is a danger that; is at risk of (something unwelcome)attaches at
そうもないshows no sign of; doesn't look like it willattaches at
と考かんがえられるit can reasonably be concluded that; is to be regarded asattaches at
と思おもうI think that; in my opinionattaches at
ような気きがするI have a feeling that; it seems to me thatattaches at

All examples4

probably; I suppose — a prediction the speaker cannot verify

明日あしたは全国的ぜんこくてきに晴はれるでしょう。
ashita wa zenkokuteki ni hareru deshou.
Tomorrow it will probably clear up across the country. formal
田中たなかさんはもう家いえに着ついているでしょう。
tanaka-san wa mou ie ni tsuite iru deshou.
Tanaka is probably home by now. neutral

right?; isn't it — rising intonation turns the guess toward the listener

この店みせのラーメン、おいしいでしょ？
kono mise no raamen, oishii desho?
This place's ramen is good, right? casual
あの美術館びじゅつかん、月曜げつようは休やすみでしょう？
ano bijutsukan, getsuyou wa yasumi deshou?
That museum is closed on Mondays, isn't it? neutral

How it's formed4

All forms1

でしょdeshocontraction
味あじわうでしょ
clipped in speech; with rising intonation it is the usual "right?" — 高たかかったでしょ？

Notes

It swallows だ (雨あめだ→雨あめでしょう, never ×雨あめだでしょう) and rides plain
forms only, not ます (×降ふりますでしょう). でしょう never conjugates;
tense sits in the word before it (降ふったでしょう).