Spanish: "Quizá" vs. "quizás"

[TJdude825]

I realized today that I’ve heard both “quizá” and “quizás” used to mean “maybe,” seemingly interchangeably. Is there any difference between them in meaning or usage, or are they both acceptable in any situation?

[Polycarp]

@TJdude825

I realized today that I’ve heard both “quizá” and “quizás” used to mean “maybe,” seemingly interchangeably. Is there any difference between them in meaning or usage, or are they both acceptable in any situation?

A more scholarly person as regards Spanish may correct this, but AFAIK, quizá is merely a dialectal variant of quizás in those countries where final -S is often elided. Compare English present participles in -ing and -in’ for a parallel.

[KarlGrenze]

Quizá is the variation when you drop the final s (some dialects, mostly Caribbean, do this).

Dropping the final s is accepted, as long as the syllable of the next word doesn’t start with a vowel.

Quizá pase algo- Maybe something will occur

Quizás algo pase- Maybe something will occur

[Excalibre]

@KarlGrenze

Quizá is the variation when you drop the final s (some dialects, mostly Caribbean, do this).

Dropping the final s is accepted, as long as the syllable of the next word doesn’t start with a vowel.

Quizá pase algo- Maybe something will occur

Quizás algo pase- Maybe something will occur

Then why do you so frequently see it written both ways? It tends to be highly unusual when writing in Spanish, even in informal or dialectual writing, to drop Ss. Yet “quizá(s)” may easily be seen spelled both ways in various places.

I always learned that they were interchangeable, however. So I imagine it’s just speaker preference.

[Balthisar]

@Excalibre

Then why do you so frequently see it written both ways? It tends to be highly unusual when writing in Spanish, even in informal or dialectual writing, to drop Ss. Yet “quizá(s)” may easily be seen spelled both ways in various places.

I always learned that they were interchangeable, however. So I imagine it’s just speaker preference.

Tal vez puedes eliminar el problema de otra forma…

In any case, the nice folks at Berlitz in León, GTO, MX, told me that either one can be used at all, that there’s no difference, but that you should just pick one form and stick with it.

[RedFury]

@KarlGrenze

Quizá is the variation when you drop the final s (some dialects, mostly Caribbean, do this).

Dropping the final s is accepted, as long as the syllable of the next word doesn’t start with a vowel.

Quizá pase algo- Maybe something will occur

Quizás algo pase- Maybe something will occur

Not sure where you got this “accepted” bit, but as a native Spanish speaker – a Spaniard living in the Caribbean to be exact – Polycarp’s explanation strikes me as the correct one. Moreover, ***La Real Academia de la Lengua Española***, appears to agree with us both. Type in “Quizá” into the dictionary and you’ll get the following message: “La palabra “Quizá” no está en el Diccionario.”

In my experience, I’ve found that people are rather hungry for “esses” in many LA countries – they eat them by the bushel

[CBEscapee]

@RedFury

Type in “Quizá” into the dictionary and you’ll get the following message: “La palabra “Quizá” no está en el Diccionario.”

I get returns from RAE on both spellings:

quizás.

1. adv. duda quizá.

quizá.
(Del lat. qui sapit, quién sabe).

1. adv. duda Denota la posibilidad de que ocurra o sea cierto lo que se expresa. Quizá llueva mañana. Quizá sea verdad lo que dice. Quizá trataron de engañarme.
   ~ y sin ~.
2. loc. adv. U. para dar por seguro o por cierto algo.

[RedFury]

And on second consultation, you’re absolutely correct.

Una muestra mas de que algo se aprende en el diario vivir.

Gracias.