French word

peut-être

Pronunciation

IPA/pøtɛtʁ/

Meaning

  • adverbmaybe

Example

Il viendra peut-être demain.

He may come tomorrow.

Illustration for peut-être (maybe)

More examples

Peut-être que Paul a déjà mangé.

Perhaps Paul has already eaten.

Core concept

A possible event placed beside a statement without full commitment to it.

Common phrases

  • peut-être que

    perhaps

  • peut-être pas

    perhaps not

Similar words

sans doute: Indicates that circumstances make an event fairly likely.
probablement: Indicates that available information makes an event likely to happen.
éventuellement: Indicates that an event could happen if certain conditions are met.

Definition in French

S'emploie pour atténuer une affirmation en exprimant un degré de probabilité.

Word origin

Its form developed from Old French peut estre, combining peut from pouvoir with estre, an older form of être, and later became peut-être.

Usage tips

  • Peut-être means 'perhaps', while peut être without a hyphen is the verb phrase 'may be' and can take a complement.

Opposites

Word lists with this word