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According to this question the volitional form of i-adjectives is used quite often -- on a daily basis. But I almost never hear it. I almost see it exclusively in books (or written documents). And if it would be used in a dialogue it would almost always be used by a man.

On the other hand, I hear quite often adj-i+でしょう.

So my question is the ~かろう form that much used?

永劫回帰
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    I don't agree with the answer you've selected at all. I hear it a lot in anime, but I do not think it's common to hear in real life. I think adj+だろう or でしょう is far more common. – Kurausukun Mar 28 '17 at 20:59

1 Answers1

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This form is classified as modern 口語 (as opposed to 文語), but it sounds old-fashioned nevertheless. It's not something we hear every day. We mostly see this form in fictional old person's speech (like in the original question) or in a few fixed expressions like 安かろう悪かろう. よかろう is often used by a pompous, old and/or noble person in fiction. If someone around you used よかろう in reality, it's likely to be a joke.

By the way, is that form really called the "volitional" form while the meaning is ~だろう? It appears similar to 行こう/見よう/食べよう, but the meaning is totally different.

naruto
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  • "If someone around you used よかろう in reality, it's likely to be a joke." That is quite reassuring, thank you. || As I understand, "volitional form" means ~よう. For sure, the よう 助動詞 is not always about volition (as in this question) but it is usually called "volition form" even though. – 永劫回帰 Mar 29 '17 at 00:32