Italian word of the day
Pronunciation | |
English translation | Maybe, perhaps |
Origin | From the Latin word fors sit, “let the fate be” |
It is an adverb and it conveys doubt or uncertainty about a situation.
Forse domani pioverà. | Maybe it will rain tomorrow. |
Forse dovremmo riparlarne domani. | Maybe we should talk about it again tomorrow. |
It can also be used in questions to confirm or verify something, similarly to a question tag.
Ettore non è forse il marito di Carla? O mi sbaglio? | Isn’t Hector Carla’s husband? Or am I mistaken? |

You can also find forse in the expression essere in forse, translating to be in doubt about something, as in…
Essere in forse | To be in doubt |
Magari
Magari | Maybe, perhaps, may; if only |
Magari is another popular translation for maybe in Italian. It’s very similar to forse to the point of being interchangeable, but it cannot be used in questions as a tag.
Luca non è in casa? Magari è uscito senza dire nulla. | Luca isn’t at home? Maybe he went out without saying anything. |
It can also translate may, especially in the expression “may not + verb”.
Magari Mattia non sarà intelligente, ma è simpatico e onesto. | Mattia may not be smart, but he is nice and honest. |

Differently from forse, magari can be used as an exclamation following something you are longing for.
Vorresti possedere un’auto da corsa? – Magari! | Would you like to own a race car? – If only! |
Forse mia suocera si trasferirà all’estero… Magari fosse vero! | Maybe my mother-in-law will move abroad…. I wish that were true! |
Probabilmente
Probabilmente | Probably |
Probabilmente is used to translate maybe in Italian to talk about probabilities, as you can probably already guess. It’s not used to express a doubt.
Probabilmente è una domanda stupida, ma perché il cielo è azzurro? | This is probably a stupid question, but why is the sky blue? |
La Gioconda è probabilmente il dipinto più famoso mai realizzato. | The Mona Lisa is probably the most famous painting ever created. |

Può darsi, può essere
Può darsi and può essere are two expressions to translate maybe in Italian that use verbs instead of an adverb.
Può darsi (che) | It may be (that) | |
Può essere | Maybe, it may be |
Può is a conjugation of the verb potere, can, meaning “it can”.
Darsi literally means “to give oneself” and essere means “to be”. It can be a little tricky to give a literal translation of può darsi, but you can easily guess that può essere means it can be. Let’s make a few examples.
Tornerai a Firenze a fine anno? – Può darsi. | Will you return to Florence at the end of the year? – Maybe I will. |
Può darsi che Stefano non superi l’esame. | It’s possible that Stefano will not pass the exam. |
Pensi che domani nevicherà? – Può essere. | Do you think it will snow tomorrow? – It may be. |

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