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Vermutlich, wahrscheinlich,
möglicherweise, vielleicht*
= presumably, probably, possibly, maybe |
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Vermutlich
hat er es verloren. |
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Presumably
he has lost it. |
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* The difference between those four is quite subtle.
Wahrscheinlich and vermutlich
mean that the action seems to be quite probably. Vielleicht
and möglicherweise
mean that the probability is a bit smaller than with
wahrscheinlich and vermutlich.
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Compare these phrases |
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Vielleicht
hat er es verloren. |
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Maybe he
has lost it. |
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Wahrscheinlich
hat er es verloren. |
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Probably he has lost
it. |
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Vermutlich
hat er es verloren. |
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Presumably he has lost
it. |
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|
|
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Vielleicht
weiß er es. |
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Maybe he knows. |
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Wahrscheinlich
weiß er es. |
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Probably he knows. |
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In the following sentences you'll
find the difference more clearly. |
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Wahrscheinlich
weiß er es, aber er will es uns nicht sagen.
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Probably
he knows, but he doesn't want to tell us. |
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Vielleicht
weiß er es, aber er will es uns nicht sagen. |
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Maybe he knows, but he
doesn't want to tell us. |
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In the first sentence there is little doubt that "he
knows". In the second sentence the doubt is stronger.
However the difference is subtle.
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