でしょう vs ね

Japanese
#1

Bunpro also seems to define both their meanings as looking for or assuming agreement from the listener i.e. “right?” “isn’t it?” “don’t you think?”

So I’m just looking to define the difference a bit better.

Bunpro mentions that ね is “stronger” than でしょう. I’m not sure what that means.

Information I found on another site, from a native speaker. They seemed to say:

でしょう is often a question, more often than ね。I.e. Right? Isn’t it? Also can mean “probably”.
ね is often when you’re stating your agreement to something the other person has said or asked you. ね can also be basically said out of habit and have very little of the “right/isn’t it?” impact.

Is this the right idea or can anyone help clear up the difference a little more?

ありがとう！

2 Likes
#2

This sounds about right to me. I also have friends who will use でしょ to make it sound less formal, when ね doesn’t feel appropriate.

#3

I’ve also been told that でしょう is used when you’re confident that the listener will agree with you. Whereas ね can be used for any other situation

#4

Thanks for your replies. @JLim and @matt_in_mito

So does this sum it up well? Am I missing anything?

でしょう

  • For asking for confirmation: right? isn’t it? don’t you think?
  • Used when you’re confident the listener will agree.

ね

  • For asking for confirmation: right? isn’t it? don’t you think?
  • For agreeing with someone else.

@JLim What did you mean by “Whereas ね can be used for any other situation”? Like when you’re less sure they will agree?

#5

It’s a little nuanced, like a lot of things in Japanese.

By any other situation, I mean any situation where you are less confident the listener will agree with you. There is also a level of politeness using the two. ね is more polite than でしょう.

Quite a lot of everyday Japanese is determined by politeness and feelings. You’ll get used to the difference the more media you consume and the more practice you get, so don’t worry about fully understanding it now if you don’t already