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JLPT N4 · Guessing & hearsay

はずだ (hazu da)

～はずだ — “should be ～ / is expected to ～”

In short · はずだ expresses the speaker's confident expectation, based on facts or reasoning, that something is (or will be) the case. It attaches to the plain form of verbs and adjectives, and to nouns and na-adjectives with の / な.
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Pattern

  • 動詞・い形容詞の普通形 ＋ はずだ 着いている → 着いているはずだ / 開いている → 開いているはずだ
  • 名詞＋の／な形容詞＋な ＋ はずだ 上手なはずだ (na-adj: な) / 休みのはずだ (noun: の)

Where it comes from

はず is a noun meaning “what ought to be the case by reason or plan.” ～はずだ is therefore a strong guess: “logically, it should be so.”

When to use it

Use it when you have grounds, such as schedules or ability: 出発したから、もう着いているはずだ. It is not for baseless guesses. The polite form is はずです.

Difference from similar words

It is more firmly grounded than ～だろう and more confident than ～かもしれない. If reality turns out different, you can say おかしいな、～はずなのに (“strange, it should be ～”).

Examples

  • 彼（かれ）はもう着（つ）いているはずです。

    Kare wa mō tsuite iru hazu desu.

    He should have already arrived.

  • この時間（じかん）なら、店（みせ）はまだ開（あ）いているはずだ。

    Kono jikan nara, mise wa mada aite iru hazu da.

    At this hour, the shop should still be open.

  • 彼女（かのじょ）は英語（えいご）が上手（じょうず）なはずだ。

    Kanojo wa eigo ga jōzu na hazu da.

    She should be good at English.

    na-adjective + な + はず.

Common mistakes

  • Use な with na-adjectives and の with nouns: 上手なはず, 休みのはず. 上手だはず is wrong.
  • It is not for your own will. 私は行くはずだ only works as an objective statement of a plan.

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