Skip to content

forse

perhaps

adverb FOR-seh Common

Origin: Latin fors sit (may chance be), contracted

Also means

maybe

Usage Note

Forse expresses uncertainty and does not trigger the subjunctive by itself in standard modern Italian — unlike benché or sebbene. It can appear at the start, middle, or end of a sentence: forse viene, viene forse, viene, forse. It is slightly more formal than magari, which additionally carries a wishful nuance ('hopefully', 'if only').

Examples

"Forse domani pioverà."

Natural Translation

Maybe it will rain tomorrow.

Free starter pack

Building your Italian vocabulary?

Get the 100 most common Italian words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.

Explore Italian by topic