A Lesson in Basic Japanese Grammar
To say the English phrase, I THINK SO in Japanese, you would say
SOU DA TO OMOIMASU そうだと思います.
To say you think or believe something in Japanese the following grammar can be used for plug and play style sentence construction for Japanese phrases “ I think that …P.F.”
P.F. + TO OMOIMASU と 思います
P.F. or plain form can be any verb, or adjective in plain dictionary form with an ai あい,iiいい, ui う,いeiえい,oiおい ending; what is known as Base III or Plain form of a verb.
“TO” OMOIMASU と 思います - “TO” と(Pronounced like toe or tow) acts as a “”quotation device for the Japanese verb OMOU 思う. It quotes whatever comes before the “TO”, so that a Japanese sentence like iku to omoimasu 行くと 思います,would translate into I think “He is going” or I think “He is going to go”. In a similar fashion this “TO” quotation marker is used in phrases to say, as in iku to iu 行くと言う- He says, “He is going”. The only difference between iku and iu, a difference of to go and to say, the quotation marker TO stays the same.
P.F. + TO IU と言う- It is said that… or They say that…etc.
“TO” とbecomes “TTE” って, and dewa nai では ないbecomes ja nai じゃ ない in colloquial Japanese
OMOU思う - v. to think (of, about).
IU 言う - v. to say
OMOU 思う and IU言う are definitely two Japanese verbs that you will want to remember when studying Japanese. Even without purposefully seeking to understand the meaning of the words, OMOU思うor IU言う , you will eventually run into their utility. They are smack dab in the center of Japanese conversation a whole lot of the time. So take special care to notice how these two Japanese words are used. These are two words not to exclude in your studies. It is the word for what you believe in sometimes. It is the word for what you feel sometimes. In English, we may say I feel such and such a way, or I believe in this and that a way; In Japanese the verb OMOU 思うand IU言うhelp us express these things. These two Japanese verbs cover a lot of ground for their size.
OMOIMASU思います is polite form of OMOU思うin Base II + Masu ます
IIMASU 言いますis polite form of IU言う in base II + Masu ます
Examples:
1.Kirei da to omoimasu. きれいだと思います - “I think it is pretty.”
1a. Kirei da to iimasu きれいだと言います - “He says she is pretty”, or “They say it is pretty”
2.chigau to omoimasu. 違うとおもいます- “I think it is different.”, or “ I beg to differ”; more literally “I think that it may differ.”
2a.Chigau to iimasu 違うと言います - “They say it is different.”
3.muzukashii to omou*. 難しいと思う- “I think it is difficult “
3a.muzukashii to iu 難しいと言う- “They say it is hard. “
4.sugoi to omou! 凄いと思う! - “I think that is great!”
4a. sugoi to iu 凄いと言う- “They say it is great!”
5.O kotowari suru to omoimasu. お断りするとおもいます- “I think that I will humbly bow out of this one”, or “I think I pass on this one”, or “ I think I'll humbly reject this”.
5a.O kotowari suru to iu お断りすると言う- “He'll say no!”
•The Japanese verbs OMOU思うand IU言う, in dictionary form, are not as polite as the verb Base II + Masu construction. Always keep your language in crispy polite shape by using Base II + Masu construction.
Another use of OMOU 思うcomes in the form of suspicion. DEWA NAI KA TO OMOUではないかと思う- means to suspect that something is true, or more literally “I think it might not be…or that it isn't.”
Examples:
1.Okii dewa nai ka to omotta 大きいではないかと思った- I thought it was big, or I suspected that it might have been big.
2.Iku no dewa nai ka to omoimasu 行くのではないか と思います- I didn't think he was going to go, or I suspect he is probably going.
Good luck making new sentences with this Japanese Grammar Lesson
As Always,
Ganbatte Ne!
Do Your Best!
Makurasuki.
