Grammar › Speculation & Certainty
〜はずだ — “should be, is supposed to be”
Confident expectation based on evidence: もう着いているはずです — they should have arrived by now
Plain form + はずだ expresses a confident expectation based on logic or evidence — not a guess, but a conclusion you're fairly sure of (“given what I know, it should be the case that…”). はずがない flips it to a strong “there's no way that…”.
How to form it
| Pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| Plain form + はずだ | 彼はもう帰ったはずだ — he should have already gone home |
| Negative certainty: 〜はずがない | 彼が知らないはずがない — there's no way he doesn't know |
Example sentences
| Japanese | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 電車は もう着いているはずです。 | でんしゃはもうついているはずです。 denshahamoutsuiteiruhazudesu。 | The train should have already arrived. |
| 彼女が嘘をつくはずがない。 | かのじょがうそをつくはずがない。 kanojogausowotsukuhazuganai。 | There's no way she'd lie. |
| 鍵は引き出しの中にあるはずだ。 | かぎはひきだしのなかにあるはずだ。 kagihahikidashinonakaniaruhazuda。 | The key should be inside the drawer. |
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Watch out
はずだ is a reasoned expectation, not a pure guess like かもしれない — using it about your own uncertain feelings (“I should be happy”) sounds odd in Japanese, since it's meant for conclusions from outside evidence.