Sometimes, learning English as an additional language can be confusing. Well, to be honest, learning any language can sometimes be confusing. It all depends on the learners’ perspectives. In this article, you’ll understand the difference between two similar (and sometimes confusing) English words. You’ve already probably noticed that they have similar uses, but which should you use: maybe or perhaps? Find it out!
Maybe or Perhaps
If you look up these two words in an online dictionary, you’ll find explanations such as these ones:
Maybe: perhaps; possibly.
Perhaps: used to express uncertainty or possibility.
They’re extremely similar, aren’t they?
Yes, they are extremely similar indeed.
In fact, they have the exactly same meaning.
There are only three main differences between these two words, namely:
- Maybe is more common in the United States and among people who learn English and are more exposed to the varieties of the language spoken there; whereas perhaps is more common in the United Kingdom and among the people who learn English and are more exposed to the varieties of the language spoken there.
- Maybe is considered more informal; whereas perhaps is considered more formal.
- Maybe can be used in front, and end position of a sentence; whereas perhaps can be used in front, mid, and end position of a sentence.
Here’s a simple summary of everything:
| WORD | MORE COMMON IN… | LEVEL OF FORMALITY | POSITION |
| Maybe | the US | more informal | front, and end |
| Perhaps | the UK | more formal | front, mid, and end |
Example sentences
| MAYBE | PERHAPS |
| “And, with perhaps a hint of sadness, he added: ‘Straight ahead of him, nobody can go very far . . .'” (The Little Prince) | “One minute to go and he’d be eleven. Thirty seconds… twenty… ten… nine — maybe he’d wake Dudley up, just to annoy him — three… two… one…” (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone) |
| “Perhaps it was because of the anniversary?” (The Little Prince) | “Maybe he was imagining it, maybe not, but he thought a faint whispering was coming from the books, as though they knew someone was there who shouldn’t be” (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone) |
| “A common rose, and three volcanoes that come up to my knees– and one of them perhaps extinct forever . . .” (The Little Prince) | “Harry. Gringotts is the safest place in the world fer anything yeh want ter keep safe — ‘cept maybe Hogwarts” (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone) |
| “He thought, perhaps, that I was like himself.” (The Little Prince) | “Maybe she was taking him to Dumbledore. He thought of Hagrid, expelled but allowed to stay on as gamekeeper” (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone) |
| “Perhaps you will ask me, ‘Why are there no other drawing in this book as magnificent and impressive as this drawing of the baobabs?'” (The Little Prince) | “Maybe the house in Privet Drive would be so full of letters when they got back that he’d be able to steal one somehow” (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone) |
