Negative conjecture with 〜まい

Usage Notes

まい follows the dictionary form of godan verbs: 行(い)くまい. Other verbs traditionally take the ない-stem, but other forms are accepted too. In writing, ichidan verbs much more often take the stem form, and すまい is the most common form of する:

• Ichidan verbs: 食(た)べまい or 食(た)べるまい
• する: しまい, すまい, or するまい
• 来(く)る: 来(こ)まい, 来(く)るまい, or 来(く)まい

Nouns and adjectives go through ある: 冗談(じょうだん)ではあるまい, 寒(さむ)くはあるまい. A rare polite form is 〜ますまい: そんなことはありますまい.

まい is old-fashioned and mostly written, though the paired “whether or not” patterns sound less literary. Everyday speech uses ないだろう for the guess, and ないことにする or のはよそう for the decision. In manga, まい turns up in narration, in the speech of older, formal, or dramatic characters, and in set phrases like 仕方(しかた)あるまい.

Two fixed patterns are worth knowing. 〜てくれまいか and 〜くださいますまいか make an old-fashioned request, “won’t you…?” 〜ではあるまいし, “it’s not as if…”, has its own page.

Formation

Making a Negative Guess

With a subject other than the speaker, まい guesses that something won’t happen or isn’t so. It means the same as ないだろう but sounds more literary and old-fashioned. Potential forms and verbs of ability or understanding are common, saying what someone probably can’t do: 逃(に)げられまい “you probably can’t escape”, わかるまい “you wouldn’t understand”.

The speaker can be the subject too, when the verb is something they don’t control: 私(わたし)は気(き)がつくまい “I probably won’t notice”. Nouns and adjectives take ではあるまい and くはあるまい: 彼(かれ)の字(じ)ではあるまい “it probably isn’t his handwriting”.

The demon Draht has slipped into the town jail where Frieren is held, intending to kill her. He wrapped invisible threads of mana around her neck and pulled to behead her, but she blocked the cut by concentrating her mana in her neck. Draht admits she kept her cool and warns that an ordinary mage would have lost their head before realizing what was happening.

ドラート:

「だがこの糸(いと)の強度(きょうど)は魔族(まぞく)の魔法(まほう)の中(なか)でも随一(ずいいち)。」

“But this thread is stronger than anything else in demon magic.”

「人類(じんるい)の魔法(まほう)ではどうにもなるまい。」

“Human magic won't be able to do a thing against it.”

View Full Example

The demon Draht tried to behead Frieren with threads of mana, and she blocked the cut. He isn’t worried, since the thread is the strongest in all of demon magic. 人類(じんるい)の魔法(まほう)ではどうにもなるまい turns どうにもならない, “nothing can be done”, into a confident guess: human magic surely can’t touch it.

Swearing Off an Action

When speakers talk about their own deliberate action, まい states a decision not to do it. Adverbs like 二度(にど)と “never again”, もう “no more”, and 決(けっ)して “never” often come with it.

〜まいと思(おも)う, 決(き)める, or 誓(ちか)う reports the decision: もう泣(な)くまいと思(おも)った “I resolved not to cry anymore”. When the thinker is guessing about someone else’s action, まいと思(おも)う is a guess instead: 彼(かれ)は来(く)るまいと思(おも)う “I don’t think he’ll come”.

Acting on a Resolve with 〜まいと

〜まいと or 〜まいとして, followed by an action, says someone acts so that something unwanted won’t happen: “determined not to…” or “trying not to…”. 〜まいとする means “try not to”. Unlike a sentence-final まい, these forms can describe anyone’s resolve, which makes them handy in narration.

Conan’s classmates aren’t fond of their new teacher’s strict attitude. Ms. Kobayashi explains how at her last school, she couldn’t bring herself to be strict, and it allowed her students to get so out of control that students were injured in a fight.

小林(こばやし):

「だから、この学校(がっこう)では二度(にど)とあんな事(こと)は繰(く)り返(かえ)すまいと…」

“Therefore, to keep from repeating that kind of situation at this school...”

「心(こころ)を鬼(おに)にして自分(じぶん)にも生徒(せいと)にも厳(きび)しくしてきたの…」

“I hardened my heart and became strict, with myself and with my students...”

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Ms. Kobayashi explains why she has been so strict. Her students at her last school got out of control and some were hurt in a fight. 二度(にど)とあんな事(こと)は繰(く)り返(かえ)すまいと is her resolve never to let that happen again at this school. The action it drove comes next: 心(こころ)を鬼(おに)にして自分(じぶん)にも生徒(せいと)にも厳(きび)しくしてきた. 繰(く)り返(かえ)す is a godan verb, so まい follows its dictionary form.

Whether or Not with 〜ようが〜まいが and 〜ようか〜まいか

Paired with the volitional form of the same verb, まい sets out both choices. 〜ようが〜まいが and 〜ようと〜まいと mean “whether or not”, and say that either way, nothing changes: 信(しん)じようが信(しん)じまいが “whether you believe it or not”.

〜ようか〜まいか means “whether to … or not”. Verbs of hesitating, like 迷(まよ)う, usually follow: 言(い)おうか言(い)うまいか迷(まよ)った “I couldn’t decide whether to say it or not”.

Set Phrases with あるまい and なるまい

Longer expressions ending in ない can turn into guesses with まい. Where the ない stands for ある, it becomes あるまい, and ならない becomes なるまい:

• 〜しかない “there’s no choice but…” becomes 〜しかあるまい.
• 仕方(しかた)がない “it can’t be helped” becomes 仕方(しかた)あるまい.
• 〜ねばならない “must” becomes 〜ねばなるまい, “I suppose I’ll have to…”.
• 〜にちがいない “must be” becomes 〜にちがいあるまい.
• 〜のではないか “isn’t it that…?” becomes 〜のではあるまいか.

まさか〜(の)じゃあるまいな asks with suspicion, “surely you’re not…, are you?”: まさかのぞく気(き)じゃあるまいな？ “You’re not planning to peek, are you?”

Related Grammar

• Presuming with 〜だろう and 〜でしょう
  • ないだろう is the everyday equivalent of guessing まい.
• Volitional with 〜う・〜よう
  • まい works as the negative of the volitional, and pairs with it in 〜ようが〜まいが.
• Thinking of doing with 〜ようと思う
  • The affirmative counterpart of まいと思う when it states a decision.
• It's not the case with 〜ではあるまいし
  • A set pattern built on まい, meaning "it's not as if…".
• Must do with 〜なければならない
  • 〜ねばなるまい turns this obligation into "I suppose I'll have to…".