German

Adverb

vielleicht

1. perhaps, maybe

   Vielleicht hat er einen Unfall gehabt.

   Maybe he’s had an accident.

2. frequently replaces bitte ‎(“please”) in polite questions

   Könnten Sie vielleicht das Fenster aufmachen?

   Could you please open the window?

3. (colloquial) expresses amazement or excitement, particularly at something negative

   Das is’ vielleicht ’ne Geldverschwendung da!

   Now, that’s some waste of money!

Usage notes

• The use of vielleicht in a polite question is often preferable because it invites the person asked to disagree, whereas bitte may sound insisting. This depends a lot on context and intonation, however.

Synonyms

• möglicherweise
• unter Umständen
• womöglich