Japanese symbol for “maybe”

多分

たぶん

Romaji: tabun

probably; likely; perhaps; maybe

In Japanese, maybe is 多分, read たぶん (tabun).

Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.

Meanings

adv probably; likely; perhaps; maybe
adj-na, adj-no a lot of; much; many; considerable; large (amount); generous

Kanji and stroke order

多

many, frequent, much

on: タ
kun: おお.い、まさ.に、まさ.る

6 strokes · JLPT 4

分

part, minute of time, segment

on: ブン、フン、ブ
kun: わ.ける、わ.け、わ.かれる、わ.かる

4 strokes · JLPT 4

Other Japanese words for “maybe”

Word	Reading	Meaning
か	か ka	hmm; huh; I wonder (if, why, etc.)
大方	おおかた ookata	probably; maybe; perhaps
或いは	あるいは aruiha	maybe; perhaps; possibly
よう	よう you	(I) wonder (if); might it be (that); maybe
若しかしたら	もしかしたら moshikashitara	perhaps; maybe; perchance

Related words

Words that share a kanji.

Word	Reading	Meaning
多数	たすう tasuu	large number (of); many
多様	たよう tayou	diverse; various
多少	たしょう tashou	a little; some; somewhat
多い	おおい ooi	many; numerous; a lot
多大	ただい tadai	great (quantity, amount, etc.); huge; enormous
自分	じぶん jibun	myself; yourself; oneself
部分	ぶぶん bubun	portion; section; part
気分	きぶん kibun	feeling; mood

See also: Chinese symbol for “maybe”.

Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.