無論是英式英語或美式英語，這兩個副詞迄今都仍相當常用。它們不僅意思相同 (意為「也許，或許，大概，可能」)，而且用法也幾無二致，兩者皆可當句子副詞 (sentence adverb)，修飾整個句子或子句，亦可用作一般副詞 (ordinary adverb)。再者，它們皆可用來指過去、現在或未來事件。
所以，在絕大多數的情況中，maybe 和 perhaps 都可互換。不過，maybe 適合用於比較非正式的上下文，而 perhaps 則適合用於比較正式的場合；換言之，maybe 比較口語化。在美式英語中，maybe 比 perhaps 要常用得多。例如：
- I can’t find the car key anywhere. Perhaps/Maybe I threw it away. (我到處找不到車鑰匙。也許我把它丟掉了)
- There were perhaps as many as fifty badly wounded victims in the hospital. (醫院裡可能有多達 50 位重傷的受害者)
- St Paul’s Cathedral is perhaps one of London’s most prominent landmarks. (聖保羅大教堂可能是倫敦最著名的地標之一)
- Maybe you are right! Perhaps it would be best if you didn’t invite David. (也許你是對的! 如果你不邀請大衛，可能是最佳的作法)
值得一提的是，maybe 和 perhaps 皆可用於禮貌的建議或請求。例如：
- Maybe we should meet sometime next week. (也許我們應該在下週某個時候見個面)
- You could put it over here, maybe. (也許你可以把它放在這裡)
- Perhaps you would like to join us for dinner. (也許你願意跟我們共進晚餐)
- You’d better go now, perhaps. (你最好還是現在就走)