quizás
adverbCEFR B1High frequency
What does “quizás” mean in English?
perhaps, maybe
perhaps, maybe (quizás / quizá; subjunctive = lower certainty; indicative = higher certainty)
Example sentences
Quizás me quede en este trabajo un año más antes de buscar otra cosa, aunque todavía no lo tengo nada claro y depende de lo que me ofrezcan si consigo una entrevista en esa empresa.
Perhaps I'll stay in this job for one more year before looking for something else, although I am still not at all sure and it depends on what they offer me if I get an interview at that company.
Quizás tiene razón en lo que dice; después de todo, lleva tres años trabajando en ese sector y conoce los problemas mejor que yo.
Perhaps she is right in what she says; after all, she has been working in that sector for three years and knows the problems better than I do.
Si aplazamos la reunión una semana más, quizás podamos encontrar un momento en el que todos estemos disponibles y no haya tantos conflictos de agenda.
If we postpone the meeting one more week, perhaps we will be able to find a time when everyone is available and there are not so many schedule conflicts.
How to use it
Quizás (also spelt quizá, both forms are standard) means 'perhaps' or 'maybe' and is an adverb of epistemic modality. Its key grammatical property is that it can be followed by either subjunctive or indicative, and the choice encodes certainty: quizás + subjunctive indicates lower probability or speaker uncertainty; quizás + indicative indicates a higher degree of certainty or that the speaker presents the option as fairly likely. This double mood option is not found in English 'maybe/perhaps', making it a genuine L1 interference point. Quizás is interchangeable with tal vez; both are more formal and complete than a veces (sometimes, frequency) or acaso (perhaps, archaic/literary).
Common mistake
The indicative/subjunctive alternation after quizás is mood-driven by certainty: higher certainty → indicative (quizás tiene razón); lower certainty → subjunctive (quizás tenga razón). English 'maybe/perhaps' has no such grammatical distinction. Learners default to one mood (usually indicative, by L1 transfer) and miss the expressive resource. Also note the written accent: quizás, not *quizas.