galiba

Galiba is a Turkish adverb meaning probably or perhaps, used to express conjecture about a situation or statement. It is common in everyday Turkish and appears in both speech and writing.

Usage is typically before the main clause or immediately before the verb phrase to signal uncertainty. Examples: Galiba yağmur yağacak. (It's going to rain, probably.) O gelmiş galiba. (I think he has arrived.) Galiba ki o doğru söylüyor. (Perhaps he is telling the truth.)

Grammar and nuance: Galiba is invariable and does not take Turkish suffixes. It functions as a hedge, indicating that the speaker’s claim is a guess rather than a certainty. It can appear at the beginning of a sentence for emphasis, or mid-sentence, and a common variant is galiba ki to introduce a subordinate clause, as in Galiba ki o doğru söylüyor.

Etymology and history: The exact origin of galiba is uncertain. The word is attested in Ottoman Turkish and remains common in modern Turkish. While some linguists note potential influences from Persian or other languages through historical contact, many analyses treat it as a long-standing Turkish marker of conjecture.

See also: Turkish language, hedging words, belki, muhtemelen, galiba ki.