As I know All 3 words mean possibly/perhaps. They differ in % of possibility (My Japanese friend said so). But I am confused when to use which one properly?
asked Feb 7, 2017 at 2:44
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1@CraigHicks I don't think 確か implies 100%. It could mean "if I'm not mistaken".– Amani KilumangaFeb 7, 2017 at 7:44
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1^ Craig, 「確か、…」と副詞的に使うと "if I'm not mistaken / if I recall correctly" って意味です。「確かに ～」っていうと "certainly, for sure" とかいう意味になります– chocolate ♦Feb 7, 2017 at 12:20
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@CraigHicks Please try to avoid answering questions in the comments section.– user1478Feb 7, 2017 at 13:40
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1 Answer
they all have different uses.
かもしれない is used at the end of a sentence to say "it might" or "maybe" (20-40%)
彼は野球の試合に行くかもしれない。
He might go to the baseball game.
たぶん is used as a prefix to say "probably," or "maybe" (75% or above)
野球の試合行きますか？
うん、多分。
Are you going to go the baseball game?
Yeah, probably.
もしかしたら is closer to "if" than maybe, but also "perhaps" and the closest translation I could think of is "if by some chance." Don't think it is associated with a percentage, but is sometimes even used in combination with かもしれない.
もしかしたら、野球の試合でベースボールカードが売っているかもしれないけどパック一つ買ってくれない？
Because by chance they might be selling baseball cards at the game, would you mind buying me a pack?
EDIT: From some suggested edits, I think it's worth it to note that even I slightly misunderstand もしかしたら。 It really is three parts, もし、か(Q) and したら、where もし itself means if, and もしか itself means perhaps or maybe, "in case." The したら at the end roughly makes it into like "if perhaps it is the case," in which case in my original example, saying たら twice was redundant to the meaning.
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3「もしかしたら、野球の試合でベースボールカードが売られていたら～」はおかしいです（「～たら～たら」となるのがおかしいです）。「もし～～が売ってたら～」「もしかして～～が売ってたら」とか、「もしかしたら～～が売ってるかもしれないから、」とかいうふうに言うのが自然だと思います。– chocolate ♦Feb 7, 2017 at 12:05
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