GrammarJLPT N5
～とおもう
→ i think that
I Think That…
JLPT N5Fixed phraseNeutral
～と思う is used to express the speaker's personal opinion, thought, or belief about something. The quotation particle と marks the preceding clause as the content of one's thought, and 思う (to think) is the verb that carries the meaning. When used in the first person (私は～と思う), it conveys a subjective opinion or judgment, often softening a statement to sound less assertive. The clause before と must end in a plain (dictionary/casual) form — this applies to verbs, adjectives, and nouns alike. A very important distinction exists between ～と思う (present tense) and ～と思っている: when talking about your own thoughts, ～と思う is natural, but when describing what a third person thinks, Japanese typically requires ～と思っている (the ongoing state of thinking) because you cannot directly know another person's momentary mental act. Additionally, ～と思う can be combined with volitional forms (e.g., 行こうと思う) to express the speaker's intention to do something, which overlaps in meaning with ～つもり but feels somewhat less committed. Compared to ～でしょう and ～かもしれない, ～と思う is a more direct and personal way of stating one's opinion.
Functions
#1 Expressing a personal opinion
Structure
Clause (plain form) + と思う
この映画はおもしろいと思います。
Here と思います is used to express the speaker's subjective opinion about the movie. The い-adjective おもしろい appears in its plain form before と, and 思います is in polite form to match the overall polite register of the sentence. By saying と思います rather than stating おもしろいです directly, the speaker softens the statement and presents it as a personal view rather than an objective fact.I think this movie is interesting.
Structures
- Verb (plain form)
- Verb (plain form) + と思う
- い-Adjective
- い-Adjective (plain form) + と思う
- な-Adjective
- な-Adjective + だ + と思う
- Noun
- Noun + だ + と思う
Common mistakes
A very common mistake is using polite forms (ます, です) inside the quoted clause before と. For example, saying おもしろいですと思います is incorrect; the clause before と must be in plain form: おもしろいと思います. Another frequent error is using ～と思う (non-progressive) to describe a third person's thoughts — saying 田中さんは～と思う sounds unnatural because you cannot directly know another person's momentary act of thinking; ～と思っている should be used instead. Learners also sometimes negate 思う itself (～と思わない) when they simply want to express a negative opinion, but the more natural pattern is to negate the content clause (～ないと思う). Finally, some learners confuse the volitional + と思う pattern with つもりだ; while both express intention, ～と思う sounds less firm and more like a tentative plan.
Related
～と思っている～と考える～でしょう～かもしれない～つもり～だろう