Maybe and perhaps are basically synonyms, but perhaps tends to appear in slightly more formal language. Caller Ron from northeastern Wisconsin noticed as much: he grew up saying maybe, yet he sees perhaps in print and on television. It’s not a matter of region or being elite, just register. An old Taster’s Choice coffee commercial plays on that gap. A woman in an intimate doorway scene says Perhaps, and the formal word landing in that romantic moment is what makes the line funny. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of ““Maybe” and “Perhaps” Differ Mainly in Formality, Not Meaning”
Hello, you have A Way with Words.
Hello, this is Ron from northeastern Wisconsin.
Hi, Ron.
Welcome to the show, Ron. What’s up?
Well, I am curious about the use of alternate words, maybe and perhaps.
I grew up with maybe. I still use maybe.
People that I talk to also do.
But I’ve noticed for quite a while now that if I read the word, it tends to be perhaps.
And certainly if I see it on TV, whether news or a television show, it’s perhaps.
So am I behind the times or is this a regional thing or is perhaps indeed a better word, maybe more elite?
I’m not sure.
Let me give you another option for that, Ron, is that they’re both correct for the occasions in which they’re being used.
So it sounds like you’re using maybe an everyday conversation, which is basically informal, right?
Yeah, yeah.
And you’re seeing perhaps in print, which is slightly more formal than spoken language, and you’re seeing on television, which is definitely more formal than just everyday conversation.
And that actually is the distinction between the two.
There’s almost no semantic difference.
It really depends on the company that those two words keep, what other words appear near them, what the sentences and paragraphs look like.
But they are generally synonyms.
The only difference is the register of the language perhaps tends to appear in slightly more elevated language and maybe tends to appear in basically everyday language.
I wouldn’t even say informal language, just like the run-of-the-mill language that we speak with our friends and our family.
Sure.
Okay.
Throughout, it’s not a regional issue.
No, not at all.
The informality or the formality of the discussion lends it to perhaps or maybe.
Yeah, and perhaps isn’t.
It’s not like it’s this rarefied legal term or anything like that.
It’s just like a little bit up.
It’s kind of like the assistant manager, whereas maybe is just the regular employee.
You know what I’m saying?
Just a little bit up the chain.
Yeah, okay.
Okay, that makes sense.
I’ll probably continue to use maybe, but to understand the differences, it’s good for me to know that.
Well, Ron, thank you for your call.
We really appreciate it.
Thank you.
All right.
Take care.
Bye.
You know, I’m reminded of that old Taster’s Choice commercial.
Do you remember that?
The one with only the hands and the clever voices?
Well, it’s like a man and a woman in the doorway.
Oh, okay.
And at the end of one of them, one of them says, look, I’m in the middle of something right now,
But perhaps, and the woman says, perhaps, in just a really, really sexy way.
I mean, if they had ended that with maybe, it wouldn’t have been the same thing.
No.
Perhaps.
Well, what works about that, and I bet they discussed this for ages in that ad agency that wrote that copy,
What works is that discrepancy between the register of the language and the utter intimacy of the moment.
Yes.
And you’ll find a lot of humor, particularly among the better writers, falls into that category.
This real discrepancy of register and occasion.
And for some reason, that tickles our fancy almost every time.
Yeah, yeah.
If you haven’t seen that commercial, you need to look it up on the internet.
