N1 Emotion and Feeling

~さぞ / ~さぞかし: meaning, usage and examples

~さぞ / ~さぞかし means: I'm sure... / must be... (expressing empathy).

Updated 9 November 2026 · By the My Senpai team · Spotted a mistake? Tell us

Examples

1. ご両親りょうしんも、合格ごうかくの知しらせをさぞ喜よろこんでいらっしゃることでしょう。

   I'm sure your parents must be delighted by the news that you passed.

2. 一日中いちにちじゅう立たち仕事しごとで、さぞかし疲つかれただろう。

   You must be so tired from standing on your feet all day.

3. 初はじめての海外かいがいでの一人暮ひとりぐらしは、さぞ大変たいへんだったことでしょう。

   Living alone abroad for the first time must have been very hard.

4. あの景色けしきを実際じっさいに見みたら、さぞかし感動かんどうするだろうね。

   I'm sure you would be moved if you saw that view in person.

When to use it

An adverb for imagining how someone else must feel or how something must be: "I am sure it must have been ...". The sentence nearly always ends with だろう or でしょう. Example: さぞお疲つかれでしょう, you must be very tired. さぞかし is a slightly stronger, more emotional form.

Nuance

Empathy for another person's situation, often polite (ことでしょう). Not used about yourself or about facts you know for sure. Without the guessing ending (だろう / でしょう) it sounds wrong, so keep the pair together.

Compare

きっと is a confident guess about anything: きっと晴はれる. さぞ guesses about feelings or degree, with sympathy: さぞ寒さむかったでしょう. だろうに adds regret about what did not happen: 言いえば済すんだだろうに. さぞ is sympathy; だろうに is sympathy plus "if only".

Tip: さぞ ... でしょう is a pair. If your sentence has さぞ, check that it ends with だろう or でしょう.