〜ようにする: Making an Effort To | Japanese Grammar

〜ようにする is not "decide to." It is "try to," "make a point of," "see to it that." The word よう sets up a target state — the way you want things to be — and する applies effort in its direction. So 毎日運動するようにする is not a decision made at one instant (that would be 運動することにする); it is a standing commitment to steer your behavior toward exercising every day. This is the effort pole of the intention-and-change system — you working on the world over time, as opposed to its twin 〜ようになる, where a new state simply develops in you.

The form

Take a verb in its plain form — dictionary form or plain negative — and attach ようにする:

Verb	Plain form	Effort
運動する (to exercise)	運動する	運動するようにする
食べる (to eat)	食べる	食べるようにする
忘れる (to forget)	忘れない	忘れないようにする
遅れる (to be late)	遅れない	遅れないようにする

毎日運動するようにする。

mainichi undō suru yō ni suru

I'll try to exercise every day.

甘いものを食べないようにしています。

amai mono o tabenai yō ni shite imasu

I'm trying not to eat sweets. (making an ongoing effort)

The core idea: steering, not deciding

Why "try" rather than "decide"? Because the actions ようにする attaches to are typically ones you can only influence, not switch on outright — building a habit, avoiding a slip, remembering something. You cannot simply will yourself to never forget; you can only arrange your behavior so that forgetting is less likely. よう names that goal-state, and する is you working toward it. That is why the natural English gloss is "make a point of," "make sure to," "try to consistently."

Hold this against ことにする:

運動することにした — "I decided to exercise." A single mental act, done and settled.
運動するようにしている — "I make a point of exercising." An ongoing effort, renewed daily, that even permits the odd lapse.

なるべく階段を使うようにしています。

narubeku kaidan o tsukau yō ni shite imasu

I try to use the stairs whenever I can.

寝る前にスマホを見ないようにしている。

neru mae ni sumaho o minai yō ni shite iru

I make a point of not looking at my phone before bed.

What ようにする can and can't attach to

Because ようにする is about steering toward a state rather than executing an act, it favors verbs you can only influence indirectly: repeated/habitual actions (運動する, 歩く, 野菜を食べる), avoidances (遅れない, 忘れない, 食べすぎない), and things not fully under instant control (早く寝る, 水を飲む). It sits awkwardly on a single, punctual, fully-controllable one-shot act — you don't "make an effort toward" mailing one letter; you just mail it. There, a plain future or a decision (ことにする) is natural, and ようにする only fits if you mean "make sure to" (i.e. don't forget):

必ず返信するようにします。

kanarazu henshin suru yō ni shimasu

I'll make sure to reply without fail. (see to it that I don't neglect it)

This is a genuine gap with English, which happily says "I'll try to mail it" for any verb. In Japanese, "try to" splits: the effortful, goal-steering "try to (consistently)" is ようにする, while a one-time attempt — "give it a try, and see" — is instead 〜てみる. Don't let English's single word "try" collapse the two.

💡

English "try" is two different Japanese ideas. ようにする = try to make a practice of / see to it that (an ongoing effort toward a state). 〜てみる = try doing something once to see how it goes (a single experiment). 食べるようにする = "make an effort to eat it (regularly)"; 食べてみる = "try a bite and see."

The negative 〜ないようにする: "try not to / make sure not to"

Because so much of self-management is avoidance — don't forget, don't be late, don't overeat — the negative 〜ないようにする is extremely common. Negate the inner verb (〜ない form), never する.

遅れないようにしてください。

okurenai yō ni shite kudasai

Please try not to be late.

風邪をひかないように、暖かくして寝てね。

kaze o hikanai yō ni, atatakaku shite nete ne

Sleep warm so you don't catch a cold, okay?

The purpose sense: ように as "so that"

It is worth seeing where ようにする comes from. On its own, 〜ように links two clauses as "so that…" — it names a goal, and then any verb states what you do to reach it:

忘れないようにメモします。

wasurenai yō ni memo shimasu

I'll jot it down so that I won't forget.

子供にも分かるように、簡単な言葉で説明した。

kodomo ni mo wakaru yō ni, kantan na kotoba de setsumei shita

I explained in simple words so that even a child could understand.

ようにする is simply the special case where the second verb is する — "so that X holds, I act." Recognizing this shared root explains the meaning without memorization: ようにする = "I do [something / whatever it takes] so that X."

〜ようにしている: making a point of it

Put する into its 〜ている (stative) form and you stress the ongoing effort — a habit you are actively cultivating, "these days I make a point of…."

毎日野菜を食べるようにしている。

mainichi yasai o taberu yō ni shite iru

I make a point of eating vegetables every day.

💡

Compare 〜ようにしている with 〜ことにしている. 野菜を食べるようにしている = "I try to eat vegetables" — an aspiration you keep working at, lapses allowed. 野菜を食べることにしている = "I make it a rule to eat vegetables" — a firm personal policy you follow. よう is soft striving; こと is a fixed decision.

〜ようにしてください: a soft, considerate request

ようにしてください is a gentler cousin of the plain 〜てください request. Because it appeals to the listener's effort toward a goal rather than commanding the act itself, it lands as "please try to…," "please make sure to…" — softer, and common in advice.

水をたくさん飲むようにしてください。

mizu o takusan nomu yō ni shite kudasai

Please try to drink plenty of water. (a doctor's advice)

Compare: 遅れないでください is a flat "don't be late"; 遅れないようにしてください is "please see to it that you're not late" — it treats punctuality as something to work at, which sounds more considerate.

The する member of the grid

ようにする is the する (I make the effort) counterpart of 〜ようになる, where the target state comes about on its own:

話せるようにする → I work at making myself able to speak.
話せるようになる → I come to be able to speak.

Same target-state marker よう, opposite engine: する is you pushing, なる is the change arriving. This is the identical volition-vs-spontaneity axis that separates ことにする from ことになる — the difference being that こと frames a discrete decision, while よう frames a gradual behavioral or ability change. The full four-way picture is on the する / なる comparison page.

Common mistakes

❌ 早く起きるようにした。

Incorrect if you mean 'I came to wake up early' — this says you made the effort, not that the change happened.

✅ 早く起きるようになった。

hayaku okiru yō ni natta

I came to wake up early. (the change happened over time)

する = you apply effort; なる = the state arrives. Don't reach for ようにする when you mean a change that developed in you.

❌ 忘れるようにしない。

Incorrect word order for 'try not to forget' — this negates する.

✅ 忘れないようにする。

wasurenai yō ni suru

I'll make sure not to forget.

Negate the action (忘れない), not する. The effort is toward the state of not forgetting.

❌ 遅れないにしてください。

Incorrect — the target-state marker よう is missing.

✅ 遅れないようにしてください。

okurenai yō ni shite kudasai

Please try not to be late.

You cannot drop よう; it is what names the state you're steering toward.

❌ 来月、引っ越すようにする。

Odd for a one-time move — ようにする can't 'try toward' a single settled event.

✅ 来月、引っ越すことにする。

raigetsu, hikkosu koto ni suru

I've decided to move next month. (a discrete decision)

A single, punctual, fully controllable act is a decision — use ことにする (or just plain future). Save ようにする for habits, avoidances, and goals you have to keep working at.

Key takeaways

ようにする = "try to / make a point of / see to it that…" — よう names a target state, する applies effort toward it.
It is an ongoing effort, not a one-time decision — that's the line between it and ことにする.
The negative 〜ないようにする ("try not to / make sure not to") is everywhere; negate the inner verb.
ようにしている = actively cultivating a habit; ようにしてください = a soft "please try to…."
It is the する member opposite ようになる: effort vs. spontaneous change.

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