ודאי / כנראה / אולי

Degrees of Certainty

Level 5

ודאי can mean certainly or surely, כנראה probably or apparently, and אולי maybe or perhaps. Context determines their exact force.

How It Works

Certainty and Possibility

ודאי expresses certainty: היא ודאי יודעת את התשובה means she surely knows the answer. כנראה marks an apparent or likely situation: הוא כנראה בבית means he is apparently or probably at home.

A Possible Statement

אולי means perhaps or maybe. אולי הוא בבית presents his being at home as a possibility. אולי הוא לא בבית presents his not being at home as a possibility.

Read the Statement Being Qualified

These words qualify the statement around them. Read the complete statement, including לא when it is present. A claim expressed with אולי is different from the same claim expressed with ודאי.

Examples (4)

  1. היא ודאי יודעת את התשובה.

    She surely knows the answer.

    ודאי expresses the speaker’s strong confidence.

  2. הוא כנראה בבית.

    He is probably at home.

    כנראה presents a likely or inferred situation.

  3. אולי הוא לא יודע.

    Perhaps he does not know.

    אולי scopes over the negative claim.

  4. אולי הוא בבית.

    Perhaps he is at home.

    אולי presents the positive statement as a possibility.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

ודאי / כנראה / אוליLevel 5Degrees of Certainty

Learn This First

Mark certainty or uncertainty and use position and intonation to identify the qualification's scope.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.