まさか (masaka) expresses disbelief or surprise at something thought unlikely. It can stand alone as “No way!” or appear in a sentence such as まさか〜ないだろう, “surely not.” まさかの before a noun labels a surprising event or result.
まさか · also masaka / まさかの / まさか〜とは
no way; you can't be serious · surely not · まさかの — the unthinkable
Sentences
まさか · refusing the news
plain、？
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まさか
まさか
no way; you can't be serious
adverb standing alone · rejecting what was just said
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本当
ほんとう ［0］
true; real
noun and な-adjective · often clipped to ほんと in speech
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に
に
(adverbial)
particle · turning 本当 into 'really, actually'
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No way — is that actually true?
まさか〜とは · never dreamed it
plain past。
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まさか
まさか
never imagined
adverb · setting up the とは frame that carries the astonishment
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彼
かれ ［1］
he
pronoun · the person whose arrival was ruled out
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が
が
marks the subject
particle · what the sentence is about — with 好き, 分かる and potentials, the object
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来る
くる ［1］
come
irregular verb · plain form before とは
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とは
とは
that, of all things
quotative と ＋ は · marking the clause as the surprise
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思わなかった
おもわなかった
didn't think
plain past negative of 思う · the standard partner for まさか〜とは
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I never dreamed he'd actually come.
まさかの · the unthinkable result
plain。
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まさかの
まさかの
unthinkable; nobody saw it coming
まさか ＋ の · modifying the noun directly, the modern use
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逆転
ぎゃくてん ［0］
a reversal
noun · 逆 reverse ＋ 転 turn, the score flipping
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勝ち
かち ［2］
win
noun from 勝つ · compounds straight onto 逆転
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だった
だった
was
plain past copula · reporting the finished result
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It was an against-all-odds comeback win.
まさか〜ないよね · hoping you're wrong
plain？
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まさか
まさか
don't tell me
adverb · asking about the thing you hope is not true
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忘れた
わすれた
forgot
plain past of 忘れる · the feared answer
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ん
ん
it's that
explanatory の, contracted · asking about the situation
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じゃない
じゃない
isn't it
negative copula · turning it into a checking question
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よね
よね
right?
sentence particles · seeking confirmation you want denied
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Don't tell me you forgot.
まさか · ruling it out for someone else
polite。
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まさか
まさか
surely not
adverb · asserting the possibility is off the table
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彼
かれ ［1］
he
pronoun · the person being defended
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が
が
marks the subject
particle · what the sentence is about — with 好き, 分かる and potentials, the object
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そんな
そんな
that kind of
demonstrative · pointing at what was just described
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こと
こと
the act of; the fact of
noun · turns the verb in front into a noun
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を
を
marks the direct object
particle · pronounced お
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言う
いう ［0］
say
godan verb · plain form before はず
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はず
はず ［0］
ought to; expected to
noun · expectation based on reasoning, negated below
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が
が
marks the subject
particle · what the sentence is about — with 好き, 分かる and potentials, the object
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ありません
ありません
there isn't
polite negative of ある · completing はずがない
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Surely he wouldn't say something like that.
まさかの時 · the older sense
polite。
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まさか
まさか
an emergency; the worst case
noun use · the older sense, alive mainly in this phrase
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の
の
links noun to noun
particle · A の B = B belonging to A
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時
とき ［2］
time; occasion
noun · when the unthinkable actually arrives
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の
の
links noun to noun
particle · A の B = B belonging to A
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ため
ため ［2］
for the sake of
noun · purpose, followed by に
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に
に
to; at; into
particle · a point something reaches — a place, a time, a person, or a state
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少し
すこし ［2］
a little
adverb · the amount being saved
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貯金
ちょきん ［0］
savings
noun · 貯金する to put money aside
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して
して
doing
て-form of する · linking into います
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います
います
is (doing)
polite of いる · marks an ongoing state
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I save a little for emergencies.
Forms
まさか
Said to news you refuse to accept. Roughly “you're kidding.” Complete as an utterance, no verb needed.
まさか〜＋とは
まさか受かるとは思わなかった. Never imagined I'd pass. The classic written shape, and the one exams test.
まさか〜＋ないよね
まさか忘れたんじゃないよね. Don't tell me you forgot. Asking while hoping the answer is no.
まさかの＋敗北 / 展開 / 事態
まさかの結末. The ending nobody saw coming. Newer than the others and now everywhere in media.
Meaning
まさか starts from a ruled-out possibility. The speaker had already decided this could not happen. That is why it so often appears with a negative — the sentence is reaching for the outcome it does not want to be true.
もしかして does the reverse. It floats a possibility the speaker is starting to suspect: もしかして、田中さん? — are you by any chance Tanaka? Opening a door, where まさか is refusing to.
意外と is the aftermath. Once the surprising thing has been confirmed, 意外と簡単だった reports it calmly — easier than expected. まさか lives in the moment of disbelief; 意外と lives after it.
まさかの is the modern one. Placed directly before a noun it labels the event itself as unthinkable — まさかの初戦敗退, a first-round exit nobody predicted. Sports writing and headlines run on it.
Inside the word
まさかの時, in case of emergency, preserves the older noun use — the unthinkable moment. The adverb everyone uses today grew out of that, which is why まさかの before a noun feels so natural despite being the newest form.
まさか is rejecting a possibility, so it pulls the sentence toward 〜ないよね, 〜はずがない, 〜とは思わなかった. The negative is where the disbelief actually lands.
Commentary and headlines made まさかの ordinary — まさかの敗退, まさかの展開. It reads as lively rather than slangy, and it is safe in ordinary writing now.
Watch out
まさか needs a possibility you had already dismissed. For “oh, really?” at merely new information, えっ、そうなんだ is what you want.
もしかして raises a possibility; まさか rejects one. もしかして田中さん? is a polite guess. まさか田中さん? means you are appalled that it might be.
The frame wants a negative or a past: 思わなかった, 夢にも思わなかった. まさか来るとは思う is not a sentence.
Also asked
Roughly “no way” or “you're kidding.” It rejects what was just said as something you had already ruled out. Complete as an utterance — no verb required.
Opposite attitudes. もしかして opens a possibility you are beginning to suspect. まさか refuses one you had written off.
Because the word is doing the rejecting. The sentence usually lands on 〜ないよね, 〜はずがない or 〜とは思わなかった, which is where the disbelief is actually expressed.
まさか used to modify a noun directly — まさかの逆転, an unthinkable reversal. It is the newest use and now completely standard in headlines and commentary.
Not in itself, but it tells the speaker you find their statement hard to accept. Softened as まさか、そんなことが it is fine; barked alone at a superior it can sound like you are calling them wrong.
In an emergency — literally “when the unthinkable happens.” This is the older noun sense of the word, and it survives mostly in this fixed phrase and in まさかに備える.
References
Shogakukan dictionaries via Kotobank: まさか — disbelief and improbable event senses
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