Today, we’re going to learn how to use はず(hazu). This article goes over the subject covered in this video. I recommend you watch the video first and read this whenever you want to review.
Using はず when you Expect Something to Happen
はず means “should” and is used when you expect something to happen a certain way.
哲也は約束したから、来るはず。
Tetsuya wa yakusoku shita kara, kuru hazu.
Tetsuya promised, so he should come.
You may already know about ほうがいい(hou ga ii), which is also means “should”, but ほうがいい is different because it’s used when you want to give advice to someone.
past tense + ほうがいい
past tense + hou ga ii
もっと寝たほうがいい。
Motto neta hou ga ii.
You should sleep more.
毎日日本語を勉強したほうがいいよ。
Mainichi nihongo wo benkyou shita hou ga ii yo.
You should study Japanese every day.
ほうがいい can also be use to compare two things.
ピカチュウのほうがいい。
Pikachuu no hou ga ii.
Pikachu is better.
* You can learn more about ほうがいい in this video.
On the other hand, はず is used when you want something to happen a certain way.
ライオンと猫が戦ったら、ライオンが勝つはず。
Raion to neko ga tatakattara, raion ga katsu hazu.
If a lion and a cat fight, the lion should win.
* たら(tara) is one way to say “if”. You can check the lesson on it here.
* 戦う(tatakau) means “to fight”. Be careful not to confuse it with 喧嘩(kenka), which also means “to fight”, but is used for street fights and arguments. 戦う is used for more dangerous fights, including battles and war. It’s also used for intangible things (“fight against terrorism”).
犬と猫が喧嘩してる。
Inu to neko ga kenka shiteru.
A dog and cat are fighting.
ネズミ年なら、22歳のはずだね。
Nezumi doshi nara, ni-juu ni-sai no hazu da ne.
You must be 22 years old if you were born in the year of the rat.
* In the last sentence, we put a の before はず because 22歳 is considered a noun.
noun + のはず
noun + no hazu
verb + はず
verb + hazu
明日は雨のはず。
Ashita wa ame no hazu.
明日は雨が降るはず。
Ashita wa ame ga furu hazu.
There should be rain tomorrow.
降る (furu) = to fall
adjective + はず
みさの赤ちゃんはかわいいはず。
Misa no akachan wa kawaii hazu.
Misa’s baby must be cute (I expect…)
オーストラリアは今暑いはず。
Oosutoraria wa ima atsui hazu.
Australia must be hot now.
有名な本だから面白いはず。
Yuumei na hon dakara omoshiroi hazu.
有名な本ですから、面白いはずです。
(formal)Yuumei na hon desu kara, omoshiroi hazu desu.
Because it’s a famous book, it should be interesting.
誰もいないから、静かなはず。
Dare mo inai kara, shizuka na hazu.
誰もいませんから、静かなはずです。
(formal) Dare mo imasen kara, shizuka na hazu desu.
Because nobody is here, it should be quiet.
* For adjectives that require a な(na), you must place a な before はず. For adjectives that require a の (no), you must place a の before はず.
adjective + なはず
adjective + na hazu
or
adjective + のはず
adjective + no hazu
まさこは20年間イギリスに住んでいるから英語が上手なはず。
Masako wa ni-juu nenkan igirisu ni sundeiru kara eigo ga jouzu na hazu.
Because Masako has been living in England for 20 years, she should be good at English.
〜が上手 (〜ga jouzu) = is good or skilled at 〜
みさはネズミが好きからミッキーマウスが好きなはず。
Misa wa nezumi ga suki kara mikkii mausu ga suki na hazu.
Because Misa likes rats, she must like Mickey Mouse.
* Although 好き(suki) means “to like”, it is an adjective that uses な.
電車はもうすぐ来るはず。
Densha wa mou sugu kuru hazu.
The train should come soon.
先生は教室にいるはず。
Sensei wa kyoushitsu ni iru hazu.
The teacher should be in the classroom.
はるきの気持ちが分かるはず。
Haruki no kimochi ga wakaru hazu.
You should understand Haruki’s feelings.
この漢字知ってるはず。
Kono kanji shitteru hazu.
You should know this kanji.
この映画知ってるはず。
Kono eiga shitteru hazu.
You must know this film.
クラブで会ったかわいい子覚えてるはず。
Kurabu de atta kawaii ko oboeteru hazu.
You must remember the cute girl we met at the club.
* In the last sentence, instead of using はず (hazu), you can also use でしょう(deshou), or でしょ(desho) for short. でしょう means “right?”.
クラブで会ったかわいい子覚えてるでしょ。
Kurabu de atta kawaii ko oboeteru desho.
You remember the cute girl we met at the club, right?
Using はずだった when You Expected Something in the Past
You can use はず with the past tense of a verb when you think something happened in the past.
トニーは昨日パーティにいたはず。
Tonii wa kinou paati ni ita hazu.
I’m sure Tony was at the party yesterday.
However, you can also use だった(datta), the past form of だ, after はず to say something was supposed to happen. You use はず like this when you expected something to happen, but it didn’t, or you don’t know if it did.
verb + はず + だった
verb + はず + でした
was supposed to (verb)
ニューヨークに行くはずだった。
Nyuuyooku ni iku hazu datta.
I was supposed to go to New York.
12月にニューヨークに行くはずだったけど、行けなかった。
Juu ni gatsu ni nyuuyooku ni iku hazu datta kedo, ikenakatta.
I was supposed to go to New York in December, but I couldn’t go.
Make sure you don’t confuse this sentence with:
ニューヨークに行ったはず。
Nyuuyooku ni itta hazu.
I’m sure he went to New York.
past tense verb + はず
I expect that something happened.
present tense verb + はずだった
I expected something to happen, but it didn’t, or I’m not sure if it did.
息子がゴミを出したはず。
Musuko ga gomi wo dashita hazu.
I’m sure my son took out the trash.
息子がゴミを出すはずだった。
Musuko ga gomi wo dasu hazu datta.
My son was supposed to take out the trash.
Using はずがない(hazu ga nai) for More Emphasis
Let’s say you’re studying Japanese at school, and you’re sure there won’t be a test today. In this case, you can say to your friend:
今日は漢字のテストがないはず
Kyou wa kanji no tesuto ga nai hazu.
I’m sure there’s no kanji test today.
However, you can make this sentence stronger if you use はずがない(hazu ga nai).
今日はテストがあるはずがない。
Kyou wa tesuto ga aru hazu ga nai.
There’s no way there’s a test today.
verb + はずがない
verb + hazu ga nai
There’s no way that (verb)
間違えたはずがない。
Machigaeta hazu ga nai.
There’s no way I made a mistake.
間違えなかったはず。
Machigaenakatta hazu.
I shouldn’t have made a mistake/ I’m sure I didn’t make a mistake.
一人で動かせたはずがない。
Hitori de ugokaseta hazu ga nai.
There’s no way he could have moved it alone.
ヘッドホンをしているから、聞こえるはずがない。
Heddohon wo shiteiru kara, kikoeru hazu ga nai.
Because she’s wearing headphones, there’s no way she can hear us.
Lastly, let’s wrap up the lesson by learning how to say you’ll pass the JLPT.
毎日日本語を勉強したから、日本語能力試験に受かるはず。
Mainichi nihongo wo benkyou shita kara, nihongo nouryoku shiken ni ukaru hazu.
毎日日本語を勉強したから、日本語能力試験に合格するはず。
Mainichi nihongo wo benkyou shita kara, nihongo nouryoku shiken ni goukaku suru hazu.
Because I studied Japanese every day, I’m sure I’ll pass the JLPT.
毎日日本語を勉強したから、日本語能力試験に合格できるはず。
Mainichi nihongo wo benkyou shita kara, nihongo nouryoku shiken ni goukaku dekiru hazu.
Because I studied Japanese every day, I’m sure I can pass the JLPT.
できる(dekiru) = can, or be able to
If you just took the JLPT, but you don’t know your results yet, you can say:
日本語能力試験に受かったはず。
Nihongo nouryoku shiken ni ukatta hazu.
日本語能力試験に合格したはず。
Nihongo nouryoku shiken ni goukaku shita hazu.
I’m sure I passed the JLPT.
Let’s sum up what we learned today:
- Use はず with a verb, adjective, or noun when you expect something to happen a certain way.
- Put だった or でした after はず when you expected something to happen, but it didn’t, or you don’t know if it happened.
- Use はずがない to add emphasis.
Thanks for reading until the end. Try using はず by yourself! If you study everyday, you can pass the JLPT too!
毎日勉強したら、きみも日本語能力試験に合格できるはず！
