〜(よ)うと思う: Stating Intention | Japanese Grammar

To say "I'm thinking of…" or "I intend to…" in Japanese, you literally quote your own resolve: you take the plain volitional (行こう, 食べよう, しよう) and follow it with と思う — "I think [that I'll…]." The volitional supplies the intention; the quotative と plus 思う frames it as something you are thinking to yourself. This is the softest, most personal way to declare a future action, which is why it dominates casual talk about plans.

The structure

Plain volitional + と + 思う. For how the volitional itself is formed (godan 行こう, ichidan 食べよう, irregular しよう / 来よう), see the volitional overview. The と here is the same quotative と you use to report speech and thought — you are, in effect, quoting a decision you've just made in your head.

Dictionary	Volitional	と思う
行く	行こう	行こうと思う
寝る	寝よう	寝ようと思う
なる	なろう	なろうと思う
する	しよう	しようと思う
来る	来よう	来ようと思う

来年、日本に行こうと思う。

rainen, nihon ni ikō to omou

I'm thinking I'll go to Japan next year.

今日は疲れたから、早く寝ようと思います。

kyō wa tsukareta kara, hayaku neyō to omoimasu

I'm tired today, so I think I'll go to bed early.

The key insight: the tense on 思う tells you how settled the plan is

Everything interesting about this pattern lives in the 思う at the end, not the volitional. Its form encodes how fresh and how firm the decision is.

〜(よ)うと思う (plain, present 思う) marks a decision made right about now — an intention that has just crystallized. English "I think I'll…" catches it exactly: it's the resolve of the moment.

うーん、今日はカレーを作ろうと思う。

ūn, kyō wa karē o tsukurō to omou

Hmm, I think I'll make curry today.

〜(よ)うと思っている (progressive 思っている) marks a standing intention — something you decided a while ago and have been holding onto. English reaches for "I've been thinking of…" or "I intend to…," and it implies more commitment than the momentary version.

子供の頃から、医者になろうと思っている。

kodomo no koro kara, isha ni narō to omotte iru

Ever since I was a child, I've intended to become a doctor.

そろそろタバコをやめようと思っています。

sorosoro tabako o yameyō to omotte imasu

I've been thinking it's about time I quit smoking.

💡

思う (momentary) = "I think I'll…," a decision made just now. 思っている (standing) = "I intend to…," a resolve you've held for a while. Same volitional, different commitment — and the difference is carried entirely by the verb of thinking.

Only the speaker gets bare 思う

There's a grammatical consequence of this "current mental state" logic: you can use plain 〜と思う only about yourself. Your own present intention is directly accessible; someone else's is not. To report a third person's intention, you must use the progressive 思っている, which describes their ongoing mental state from the outside.

兄は来年、留学しようと思っている。

ani wa rainen, ryūgaku shiyō to omotte iru

My older brother intends to study abroad next year.

Say 兄は…しようと思う (bare 思う) and it sounds wrong — you'd be claiming direct access to your brother's private thoughts.

Where it sits among the "intention" patterns

〜ようと思う is the softest and most personal of the ways to state a plan. Compare it with its firmer cousins:

Pattern	Feel	Example
〜(よ)うと思う	softest; a personal leaning, decided just now	行こうと思う
〜(よ)うと思っている	a standing intention held for a while	行こうと思っている
〜つもり	firmer; a settled plan you're committed to	行くつもり
〜予定	a scheduled arrangement, often fixed externally	行く予定

The progression runs from tentative to fixed. 〜ようと思う floats a plan you could still change; 〜つもり states a plan you've committed to; 〜予定 reports something on the calendar, frequently decided by circumstances or other people rather than by you. They are not freely interchangeable: announcing a wedding date with 結婚しようと思う sounds wishy-washy, while musing about a possible weekend hike with 予定 sounds oddly official.

来月、京都に行く予定です。新幹線ももう予約しました。

raigetsu, kyōto ni iku yotei desu. shinkansen mo mō yoyaku shimashita

I'm scheduled to go to Kyoto next month. I've already booked the bullet train.

卒業したら、しばらく海外で働くつもりです。

sotsugyō shitara, shibaraku kaigai de hataraku tsumori desu

After I graduate, I plan to work abroad for a while.

The honest catch: no everyday negative volitional

If you want to say "I think I won't drink," you cannot simply negate the volitional. The negative volitional 〜まい (飲むまい) exists but is (literary) and sounds stiff in conversation. In everyday speech you rephrase — negate the content, not the volitional:

今日はお酒を飲まないでおこうと思う。

kyō wa o-sake o nomanaide okō to omou

I think I'll refrain from drinking today.

もう甘いものは食べないようにしようと思っています。

mō amai mono wa tabenai yō ni shiyō to omotte imasu

I've been thinking I'll try to stop eating sweets.

There's no clean shortcut here; the natural negatives are built with 〜ないでおく or 〜ないようにする, both of which then take しようと思う.

Politeness lives on 思う, never on the volitional

A crucial structural point: the politeness of the whole sentence is set by 思う vs. 思います, and only there. The volitional inside stays plain no matter how formal you're being — you never make it polite. So the casual 行こうと思う and the polite 行こうと思います share the exact same 行こう; what changes is the final verb of thinking.

週末は家でゆっくりしようと思います。

shūmatsu wa ie de yukkuri shiyō to omoimasu

I think I'll take it easy at home this weekend.

This is why 行きましょうと思います is wrong: ましょう is the polite volitional, and you can't stack it inside と思う — the slot before と wants the plain 行こう. Politeness is handled once, at the end.

💡

One politeness knob, one location: keep the volitional plain (行こう) and toggle formality on the final verb — 思う (casual) vs. 思います (polite). Never try to "upgrade" the volitional itself: ❌ 行きましょうと思います, ✅ 行こうと思います.

A softer cousin: 〜たいと思う

You can quote a desire instead of a resolve by putting 〜たい ("want to") before と思う. 〜たいと思う ("I'd like to…") is even more tentative and modest than 〜ようと思う — it's a staple of self-introductions and polite announcements, where flatly stating your will could sound too forward.

いつか自分の店を持ちたいと思っています。

itsuka jibun no mise o mochitai to omotte imasu

I hope to have my own shop someday.

Comparison with English

English keeps intention and prediction apart with different verbs: "I'm going to…," "I intend to…," "I'm thinking of…." Japanese uses one verb of thought, 思う, and lets the volitional mark that it's a first-person intention rather than an opinion about the world. That's the trap in the next section: 行くと思う and 行こうと思う differ by exactly one volitional ending, but they mean completely different things — a prediction versus a plan.

Common mistakes

❌ 来年、日本に行こう思う。

rainen, nihon ni ikō omou

Incorrect: the quotative と is missing — 思う needs something to quote.

✅ 来年、日本に行こうと思う。

rainen, nihon ni ikō to omou

Correct: volitional + と + 思う.

❌ 私は来年、日本に行くと思う。

watashi wa rainen, nihon ni iku to omou

Incorrect for stating your intention — dictionary form + と思う is a prediction: 'I think I will (probably) go.'

✅ 私は来年、日本に行こうと思う。

watashi wa rainen, nihon ni ikō to omou

Correct: the volitional 行こう makes it your intention, 'I'm thinking I'll go.'

❌ 彼は医者になろうと思う。

kare wa isha ni narō to omou

Incorrect: bare 思う claims direct access to someone else's thoughts.

✅ 彼は医者になろうと思っている。

kare wa isha ni narō to omotte iru

Correct: a third person's intention takes the progressive 思っている.

❌ 来月、結婚しようと思います。（招待状はもう送りました。）

raigetsu, kekkon shiyō to omoimasu. (shōtaijō wa mō okurimashita)

Odd: for a fixed, already-arranged event, the tentative 〜ようと思う undersells it.

✅ 来月、結婚する予定です。

raigetsu, kekkon suru yotei desu

Correct: a scheduled, settled plan takes 〜予定.

Key takeaways

Plain volitional + と + 思う = "I'm thinking I'll…" — the softest way to state intention.
The quotative と is mandatory; dropping it is the most common error.
思う (momentary) = a decision just made; 思っている (standing) = an intention held for a while — and third-person intentions require 思っている.
行くと思う (prediction, "I think he'll go") ≠ 行こうと思う (intention, "I'm thinking I'll go").
On the commitment scale: 〜ようと思う < 〜つもり < 〜予定.
There's no everyday negative volitional; negate the content with 〜ないでおく or 〜ないようにする instead.

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