~のでしょうか (hedged polite question)

grammar

7 sentences

The hedged polite question ending ~のでしょうか, combining explanatory の with the tentative polite でしょうか — 'I wonder if X / could it be that X?' Very indirect; used to soften sensitive, deferential, or probing questions. Casual contraction ~んでしょうか (の → ん) is common in speech; the copula-linked variant ~なんでしょうか appears after nouns and な-adjectives.

7 sentences

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