果たして
Meanings
1
as expected; sure enough; just as one thought
Used when a result or situation matches prior expectation, often with a tone of confirmation or mild surprise that things turned out as predicted.
Sure enough, he showed up at the promised time.
Just as expected, it started raining as the forecast said.
2
Used in questions or hypothetical statements to express doubt, curiosity, or to emphasize the uncertainty of a proposition. Often translates to 'really' or 'ever' in English.
Will he really succeed, I wonder?
Is such a thing actually possible?
Usage patterns
- 果たして〜だろうかused to pose a doubtful, rhetorical question: 'I wonder if ~ really'
I wonder if his plan will really succeed.
- 果たして〜通りになるsure enough, things turn out exactly as expected
Sure enough, the result turned out just as expected.
- 果たして〜かどうかexpresses uncertainty about whether something is really the case
No one knows whether this method is really correct.
- 果たして〜ものかrhetorically questions whether something could really happen or be true
Could he really do such a thing, I wonder?