I’m Guessing Maybe…
A while back I was trying to ‘guess’ how old someone was in a photo, when I couldn’t see their face. But I could see arms, legs, clothes, so I had something to go by.
I don’t like saying anything as a fact, unless I’m dead sure. So in english I use ‘maybe’ a lot – to surmise.
How do you guess maybe?
I’m Guessing Maybe…
“Maybe” words (a lo mejor / quizás / tal vez)
These are real “maybe” vibes.
The subjunctive is only triggered by quizá and tal vez depending on your intention because both can be used to mean either maybe/uncertainty or maybe/probably.
If you use them to express DOUBT they trigger the subjunctive.
If you’re implying that you DON’T know, that will also trigger the subjunctive.
That doesn’t mean you can’t use them to ‘guess’, in which case you would just use the indicative to show your intention is an educated guess.
Quizá and tal vez are not the strongest tools for evidence-based guessing because of their dual nature.
“A lo mejor” has the literal definition of “to the best (thing)” = in the best case.
It always expresses likelihood so it never triggers the subjunctive.
It can be used to express an informed guess, but there are other words that might fit the situation better.
Spanish ways to “hedge,” estimate, or guess (without sounding sure)
“I guess / I suppose”
- supongo que… (I suppose that)
- imagino que… (I imagine that)
- me imagino que… (softer)
- diría que… (I’d say that…)
These are great for soft guesses.
Ej: Supongo que tiene unos 25 años.
“Looks like / seems like”
- parece que… (it seems that)
- se ve que… (it looks that – Mexican, super natural)
- parece como que… (it seems like that – extra soft, very casual)
Ej: Se ve que tiene como veintitantos años.
“About / around / roughly”
- Como… (about, around, like, roughly)
- unos… (some/around)
- alrededor de… (around)
- aproximadamente… (formal-ish)
- veintitantos / treintaypico (super natural)
Ej: Tiene como veintitantos años.
Ej: Unos 25, más o menos.
“More or less / give or take”
- más o menos (more or less)
- por ahí (around there)
- por ahí de… (Mexican: “around…”)
- por decir algo (just guessing)
Ej: Debe tener por ahí de 25.
Ej: Más o menos 25.
“It could be that”
Subjunctive triggers.
- puede que… + subjunctive
- podría ser que… + subjunctive
- igual y… (Mexican, very casual = maybe)
Ej: Puede que tenga unos veinte y algo.
Ej: Igual y tiene unos veintipocos.
The ones that are PERFECT for what you described (guessing by limbs/clothes)
If you’re estimating age with partial visual info, these are the most natural:
✔️ Diría que… “I’d say…”
✔️ Supongo que… “I suppose…”
✔️ Parece que… “It seems like…”
✔️ Se ve que… “You can tell that…”
✔️ Tiene como… “He/She is like…”
✔️ Unos + número “Around…”
Combine them:
- Diría que tiene unos 25, más o menos.
- Parece que tiene como veintipocos.
- Supongo que tiene unos 30 por ahí.
- Se ve que es como de veintitantos.
Adivinar = “to guess”
adivinar ONLY fits very specific situations.
Think: guessing without clues, guessing randomly, or trying to “figure out” something hidden.
- Blind guessing
- Games / guessing games
- Fortune-telling vibe
- Guessing something impossible to know
When you DO NOT use adivinar
Exactly your situation:
educated, visual, evidence-based guessing
