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〜はず (hazu)

Cozykotobar | Naoki

Sep 8

1 min read

JLPT N3

How to say something should be true, based on reason or evidence.

Meaning

“Should ~ / ought to ~ / is supposed to ~.” A logical expectation — not permission.

Formation

Verb / い-adj (plain) + はず
な-adj + な + はず; Noun + の + はず

Examples

電車は10時に着くはずです。

Densha wa jū-ji ni tsuku hazu desu. — The train should arrive at ten.

彼はもう空港に着いているはずだ。

Kare wa mō kūkō ni tsuite iru hazu da. — He should have arrived at the airport by now.

こんなに練習したんだから、大丈夫なはず。

Konna ni renshū shita n dakara, daijōbu na hazu. — I practiced this much, so it should be fine.

安いはずなのに、なぜか高かった。

Yasui hazu na noni, nazeka takakatta. — It was supposed to be cheap, yet somehow it was expensive.

How it works

はず expresses confidence based on logic or evidence. 〜はずがない flips it to “there's no way ~,” and 〜はずだった means “was supposed to (but didn't).”

Compared with similar expressions

〜はず — logical expectation. “Should be.”
〜わけだ — a conclusion after learning the reason. “No wonder.”
〜かもしれない — mere possibility. “Might.”

Common mistakes

な-adj / Noun: 大丈夫 → 大丈夫なはず, 学生 → 学生のはず
はずがない (impossible) vs はずだった (was supposed to).

Related grammar

〜わけだ — no wonder
〜かもしれない — might
〜に違いない — must be

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