modality N4 essential casualpolitewritten
〜ようと思う — be thinking of ~ing / intend to ~
〜ようと思う
Builds on 意向形
Meaning
- be thinking of ~ing / intend to ~ — an intention the speaker is forming or has just settled on
Key sentence
週末に映画を見ようと思う。
I'm thinking of watching a movie this weekend.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb (volitional form) | V(volitional よう/おう) + と思う | 行く → 行こうと思う / 食べる → 食べようと思う |
Variants
〜ようと思っている — 思っている marks an intention you've held for a while; 思う marks one formed right now.
Examples
もう少し日本語を勉強しようと思っています。
I'm planning to study Japanese a bit more.
今日は早く帰ろうと思う。
I think I'll head home early today.
来月から運動を始めようと思う。
I'm thinking of starting exercise next month.
When you can't use it
- Because it carries the speaker's own will, the plain 〜ようと思う is used for yourself. For someone else's intention, report it with 思っている: 彼は留学しようと思っている.
Easily confused with
See 〜ようと思う in real sentences
Jengo shows 〜ようと思う the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar.