Lesson 124 · German A1-2

Adverbs of Certainty

Sicher, wahrscheinlich, vielleicht

"Definitely," "probably," "maybe" - a small set of adverbs that add real nuance to opinions (Lesson 48) and predictions (Lesson 39), letting you signal exactly how sure you are.

Today's win: grade your certainty precisely using sicher, wahrscheinlich, vielleicht, and kaum.

The certainty scale

sicher / bestimmtdefinitely/certainly
wahrscheinlichprobably
vielleichtmaybe
kaumhardly/barely likely

Quick check: which word means "probably"?

Show answer
wahrscheinlich

In a sentence: mid-sentence, after the verb

Es regnet wahrscheinlich morgen. (It'll probably rain tomorrow - reusing werden-future, Lesson 39.)
Ich komme vielleicht später. (I might come later.)
Das ist sicher richtig. (That's definitely correct.)

Quick check: "It'll probably rain tomorrow." - Es regnet ______ morgen.

Show answer
wahrscheinlich

Starting a sentence with the adverb (verb-second still applies)

Vielleicht komme ich später. (Same verb-second rule from Lesson 5 - the adverb takes slot one, verb stays second.)

Quick check: when "Vielleicht" starts the sentence, what happens to the verb's position?

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stays second
Try it out loud: make three predictions about tomorrow, each with a different certainty level - one sicher, one wahrscheinlich, one vielleicht.

Recap

1. Which word means "definitely/certainly"?

Show answer
sicher

2. "I might come later." - Ich komme ______ später.

Show answer
vielleicht

3. Which word signals the lowest likelihood - "kaum" or "wahrscheinlich"?

Show answer
kaum

Primary source

Cross-checked against the Goethe-Institut A1 practice materials.

Want to practice grading your certainty about something real? Ask your teaching agent.

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