varbūt
Maybe in Latvian is varbūt.
varbūt shows uncertainty. It can open a sentence or stand in the middle of one.
Meaning: indicating a lack of certainty (adv)
What does it mean word for word?
varbūt is built from var, can and būt, to be, much like English maybe.
How does it change in a sentence?
varbūt is an adverb and never changes its form.
Did you know?
- In Latvian, varbūt is often used as a polite way to decline an invitation without saying 'no' directly, which can be seen as too blunt in certain social contexts.
- In casual speech, Latvians might replace varbūt with the word možē, which is a loanword from Russian and is extremely common in spoken dialogue despite being less formal.
- While varbūt expresses uncertainty, Latvians may use the phrase nu varbūt to signal skepticism or doubt about what the other person is saying, similar to saying 'Yeah, right' in English.
Examples in context
- Varbūt es sevi mānu.Maybe I'm fooling myself.Varbūt opens the sentence here.Tatoeba #12097472 by GemMonkey, translation #3822148 by CK
- Tā varbūt bija kļūda.Maybe that was a mistake.varbūt sits in the middle of the sentence here.Tatoeba #12923446 by GemMonkey, translation #2645035 by CK
- Varbūt tas bija kaķis.Maybe it was a cat.Varbūt opens the sentence, maybe it was a cat.Tatoeba #12160668 by GemMonkey, translation #2648068 by CK
- Man nav precīzu datu, bet iespējams.I don't have precise information, but perhaps.
- Varbūt, varbūt arī nav.Maybe, maybe not.
- 33 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Jānis and Laura are deciding what to eat for dinner.
- JānisVai mēs gajām uz restorānu?Shall we go to a restaurant?
- LauraVarbūt, bet es gribētu kaut ko lētu.Maybe, but I would like something cheap.
- JānisTad varbūt pavārīsim paši mājās?Then maybe we'll cook ourselves at home?
- LauraLieliska ideja, Jāni!Great idea, Jānis!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “maybe” translations and entries varbūt, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
