GrammarJLPT N5
→ intention
Expressing Intention, Plan, or Belief
JLPT N5NounNeutral
つもり is a noun that expresses the speaker's intention or plan to do something, or their belief about a state of affairs. When used with the plain (dictionary) form of a verb, it conveys 'I intend to…' or 'I plan to…'. When used with the negative plain form (ない-form), it means 'I don't intend to…'. A less common but important usage pairs つもり with a past-tense verb or adjective/noun to express the speaker's assumption or belief about something — 'I believe that I did…' or 'I consider myself to be…'. Unlike 予定, which refers to a concrete, scheduled plan, つもり focuses on the speaker's personal intention or mental stance. Unlike たい, which expresses desire or wish, つもり carries a stronger sense of decision and resolve. Because つもり describes internal mental states, it is most naturally used for first-person statements or second-person questions; using it to state a third person's intention directly can sound unnatural unless reported speech or evidential markers are added.
Functions
#1 Expressing intention or plan
Structure
Verb (plain form) + つもりだ
来年、日本に行くつもりです。
Here つもり is attached to the plain form of the verb 行く to express the speaker's personal intention or plan. The speaker has made a mental decision to go to Japan, though it may not be a fixed schedule yet. This is the most common and fundamental use of つもり. Adding です at the end makes it polite, while だ would be used in casual speech.I intend to go to Japan next year.
Structures
- Verb (intention to do)
- Verb (plain form) + つもり + だ / です
- Verb negative (intention not to do)
- Verb (ない-form) + つもり + だ / です
- Verb past / Noun (belief about oneself)
- Verb (た-form) / Noun + の + つもり + だ / です
Common mistakes
A common error is using つもり to describe a third person's intention directly, such as 田中さんは行くつもりです, without any evidential marker — since つもり describes an internal mental state, it sounds unnatural to assert it about someone else unless you add something like と言っていました ('they said that…'). Another frequent mistake is confusing つもり with 予定; while both can translate as 'plan', 予定 refers to a concrete, scheduled arrangement, whereas つもり is about the speaker's personal intention or resolve. Learners also sometimes incorrectly use the ます-stem before つもり (e.g., 行きつもり), but the correct form requires the plain dictionary form (行くつもり) or the ない-form for negation. Finally, beginners may overlook the belief/assumption usage of つもり with た-form verbs and mistakenly interpret したつもり as a future intention rather than a retrospective belief.
Related
予定 (よてい)ようと思うたいことにするつもりだったはず