Emaki · all 1,500 words

恐らく

おそらく

probably (usually negative), I'm afraid ...

Mnemonic

There is fear sitting in the character, and this is the probably you reach for when you would rather it went the other way. The same oh おそ, sore らく as 恐れる: おそらく.

Worth knowing

多分 たぶん is the neutral probably. 恐らく is formal, and leans toward the outcome you were hoping to avoid.

Built from

fear
心 a heart at the bottom with a pair of hands gripping something above it. The grip is the fear.

Words sharing these kanji

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Emaki is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, Kaishi 1.5k or its authors. The word, reading and meaning come from the Kaishi 1.5k deck, used with their permission. The mnemonic, the note and the kanji breakdown are original work, published under CC BY-SA 4.0.