Jisho

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0b5ecd3a79731651b3202001fb906ddf
1 Reply ・ Started by Streiker at 2019-09-27 02:18:25 UTC ・ Last reply by Coocos at 2019-09-28 10:48:35 UTC

の before でしょう puzzles me in this sentence

I don't understand the use of の before でしょう in the following sentence. どうしてドラえもんは人気があるのでしょうか。 I would expect just あるでしょう. Thanks for any help.

02201c0b5e8f82e5ebb0e4cd3176d61c
Coocos at 2019-09-28 10:48:35 UTC

I don't claim to be an expert in Japanese, but I think the sentence ending is a combination of the のだ expression and the でしょうか expression, which indicates a question in polite language, teineigo (丁寧語). The のだ is used to ask for (or explain) information, that is shared with the listener. You could have seen or heard it appear as んだ in various places.

So, if I'm correct, the sentence could be translated as something like: "Since you may know, could you please explain me why Doraemon in particular has popularity?"

Hopefully my answer is helpful.

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