Grammar Info

N4 Lesson 4: 5/18

う・よう + と思(おも)うI think I will, I think I shall, Going to, Gonna (Volitional + と思う)

Structure

Verb［おう］ + と思(おも)う(1)

(1) と思(おも)っている

Details

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About 〜ようと思う・〜おうと思う

The combination of a verb with the auxiliary verb う, or よう, followed by the う-Verb 思(おも)う gives us the common expression ようと思(おも)う. This expression is often translated as 'I think I will (A)', or 'I shall (A)'. It is also close to the casual expression 'I'm gonna (A)'.

Remembering that う and よう can have one of three possible meanings in Japanese (as discussed in the よう grammar point), ようと思(おも)う is usually only used to express one of those three. That 'one' is as follows:

意志(いし) - Expresses intentions (has a similar meaning to ～するつもりだ）.

This expression is also often used with 思(おも)っている. In these cases, it highlights that the intention of the speaker is something that they regularly think, or have been thinking about for some time.

思(おも)っている may also be used when describing the intentions of another person, as discussed in our lesson about と思(おも)う.

Caution

Let's be careful to remember the difference between the auxiliary verbs よう, and ようだ. They are different constructions that have different meanings, and behave in unique ways grammatically.

Related

Examples

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    明日(あした)、勉強(べんきょう)をしようと思(おも)う。

    I think I will study tomorrow.

    来年(らいねん)、家(いえ)を買(か)おうと思(おも)う。

    I think I will buy a house next year.

    帰(かえ)ってから、お菓子(かし)を食(た)べようと思(おも)います。

    I think I will eat candy after returning home.

    今日(きょう)から文法(ぶんぽう)の勉強(べんきょう)を始(はじ)めようと思(おも)う。

    I think I will start studying grammar from today.

    息子(むすこ)はレゴを欲(ほ)しがっているから、買(か)ってあげようと思(おも)う。

    My son wants lego, so I think I will buy him some.

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〜ようと思う・〜おうと思う – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (10 in total)

  • BonusBread

    BonusBread

    Can someone please help me understand the difference between this and つもりだ

  • RadicalC

    RadicalC

    Well I believe that at their core, つもり assumes made/set plan

    ようと思う is all about expressing consideration.

    日本に行こうと思っている
    still consideration stage
    日本に行くつもりです
    Set plan, even if not set in stone necessarily

  • RadicalC

    RadicalC

    So is 考える commonly interchangable here, because I’ve seen google translate use it instead and it makes sense. tyvm

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