kanske
Danish
Etymology
From kan (“can, may”) + ske (“happen, occur”).
Adverb
kanske
- (archaic or humorous) maybe
Synonyms
Further reading
- “kanske” in Den Danske Ordbog
Swedish
Etymology
From kan (“can, may”) + ske (“happen, occur”), less commonly used similar constructions include kanhända, måhända, törhända, and Danish måske. Compare Elfdalian kanstji, Norwegian kanskje, Icelandic kannski, and Faroese kanska.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /²kanːˌɧɛ/
- (Central Sweden, dark /ɧ/) IPA(key): [²kʰaŋːˌɧ𝆑ʷɛ], [-x-]
- (Central Sweden, light /ɧ/) IPA(key): [²kʰaɳːˌʂɛ]
Audio (Gotland): (file)
- Rhymes: -²anɧɛ
Adverb
kanske (not comparable)
- maybe, perhaps, possibly
- 1912, Hjalmar Söderberg, Den allvarsamma leken [The Serious Game][1], Albert Bonniers förlag, accessed at Litteraturbanken.se, courtesy of Göteborgs universitetsbibliotek, archived from the original on 17 September 2025:
- [Kan] jag älska henne nu, då hon har [givit] sig åt en främmande man? Eller kanske åt flera…
- Can I love her now that she has given herself to another man? Or perhaps several…
- 1940, Karin Boye, Kallocain[2], Albert Bonniers förlag, accessed at Litteraturbanken.se, courtesy of Göteborgs universitetsbibliotek, archived from the original on 17 September 2025:
- Trots allt var jag en god medsoldat och skulle kanske kunna bli en ännu bättre.
- In spite of everything, I was a good fellow‐soldier, and would perhaps become a still better one.
- 2000, 1973 års bibelkommission, “Jona [Jonah] 1:6”, in Bibel 2000[3], © Svenska Bibelsällskapet, accessed at Bible.com, archived from the original on 17 September 2025:
- Kaptenen kom ner till honom och sade: »Hur kan du ligga och sova? Upp med dig och åkalla din gud! Kanske den guden tänker på oss så att vi inte går under.«
- The captain went to him and said, "How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish."