Expressing "perhaps" with 也许 and 或许
The adverb 也许 
indicates a conclusion based on someone’s opinion or feeling.
It should be placed at the beginning of a sentence or before a predicate.
indicates a conclusion based on someone’s opinion or feeling.
It should be placed at the beginning of a sentence or before a predicate. Pay attention
It is used more often in colloquial speech than in written language.
Examples
他也许打算离开她
He is probably planning to leave her
tā yěxǔ dǎsuan líkāi tā
也许我不够聪明
I’m probably not smart enough
yěxǔ wǒ bú gòu cōngmíng
也许 is often used with the particle 吧 , which expresses a guess.
, which expresses a guess.Examples
不知道，也许吧
I don't know, maybe
bù zhīdào, yěxǔ ba
In a negative sentence, we should put the negative particle 不 after the adverb 也许 and before the verb.
after the adverb 也许 and before the verb.Examples
她也许不想来
She probably doesn't want to come
tā yěxǔ bù xiǎng lái
We also can use 也许 separately as a response to a remark.
Examples
难道我真的没有出息？—— 也许
Is there really nothing I can do? — Probably not
nándào wǒ zhēnde méi yǒu chūxi — yěxǔ
The adverb 或许
The adverb 或许 is very similar to 也许.
It may be stated either before or after the subject.
is very similar to 也许.
It may be stated either before or after the subject. Pay attention
We mostly use the adverb 或许 in written language.
Examples
他们或许是路上堵车了，迟到几分钟
They probably got stuck in traffic and will be late by a few minutes
tāmen huòxǔ shì lùshang dǔchē le, chídào jǐ fēnzhōng
明天或许就会听到新信息了
Maybe we will hear new information tomorrow
míngtiān huòxǔ jiù huì tīngdào xīn xìnxī le
或许他已经随着年龄的增长变得更睿智了
Perhaps he has become smarter with age
huòxǔ tā yǐjīng suízhe niánlíng de zēngzhǎng biàn de gèng ruìzhì le
Pay attention
We do not use 或许 separately as a response to a remark.
Pay attention
We can also express the implication “maybe” with modal verbs ↓