〜かもしれません~kamo shiremasen
Kamo shiremasen (〜かもしれません) means “possibility: might be”.
I might have lost my passport.
Use 〜かもしれません to express an unconfirmed possibility about the past, present, or future.
In the course
How it works
The passport is missing. Look at the picture: can we be sure it is at the hotel or on the train?
「忘れたかもしれません」 expresses a possibility about something that already happened: I may have left it at the hotel.
「なくすかもしれません」 can express a future possibility too: I might lose my passport.
Attach 「かもしれません」 to a verb in plain form, such as 「忘れた」, rather than 「忘れました」.
For an affirmative noun in the present, attach it directly: 「パスポートかもしれません」. Do not add 「だ」.
For a な-adjective in the present affirmative, also remove 「だ」 before adding 「かもしれません」.
For a possibility expressed in the negative, keep the plain-form 「ない／なかった」 and then add this expression.
Saying “I may have left it at the hotel” still leaves the train as a possibility. This expression does not mean it is confirmed.
Example sentences
- パスポートpasupootoをoなくしたnakushitaかkaもmoしれません。shiremasen
I might have lost my passport.
- 電車denshaにni忘れたwasuretaか
In a conversation
- Aパスポートが見当たりませんね。
A: I can't find the passport anywhere.
- Bええ、ホテルに忘れたかもしれません。
B: Yes, I might have left it at the hotel.
Check yourself
Level 1 · Recognise
Which sentence is correct?
Level 1 · Recognise
Listen and choose the meaning
Level 2 · Build
Put the words in order
I might have lost my passport.
Level 3 · Use
What goes in the blank?
パスポートを （なくす・丁寧に）。
I might have lost my passport.
More grammar in this theme
- 〜かもしれませんpossibility: might be