ようと思う for Intention in Japanese

In Brief

Use the volitional form + と思う to present something as your intention: 来年日本に行こうと思います means “I’m thinking of going to Japan next year.” ようと思います often expresses a decision or thought at the present moment, while ようと思っています usually presents an intention you have held for some time. This pattern describes a person’s intention, not an event that will simply happen.

Overview

ようと思う is a B1 pattern for talking about something you mean, plan, or have decided to do. It joins a verb in the volitional form (the form used for “let’s …” or “I’ll …,” such as 行こう and 食べよう) to と思う, “to think.” Depending on the situation, natural English translations include “I think I’ll …,” “I’m thinking of …,” and “I intend to ….”

The literal idea is “I think that I will do it,” but English speakers should not translate each piece rigidly. In 新しい仕事を探そうと思います, the speaker is not expressing an uncertain opinion about the future. They are presenting their own intention in a measured, natural way: “I’m thinking of looking for a new job.”

This is especially useful when explaining personal goals, choices, and plans. However, intention belongs to a person who can choose an action. A timetable, the weather, or an accidental event does not “intend” to happen, so those kinds of future statements need a different pattern.

How It Works

The basic structure

The part before と is a quoted thought. A quotation here means the words or idea treated as the content of “think”; quotation marks are not required.

Pattern	Main meaning	Typical use
volitional form + と思う	think I will; intend to	a current decision or the speaker’s view now
volitional form + と思います	same meaning, polite style	polite conversation and writing
volitional form + と思っている	be intending; have it in mind	an intention held over a period of time
volitional form + と思っています	same meaning, polite style	established personal plans; questions about another person’s plans

The final verb carries the politeness. The volitional form before と stays plain:

• 早く寝ようと思います。 — “I think I’ll go to bed early.”
• not 早く寝ましょうと思います。

Making the volitional form

Japanese verbs are commonly grouped by how they change form. Godan verbs change their final kana through several vowel rows; ichidan verbs normally drop final る before an ending. The two irregular verbs are する and 来る.

Verb type	Dictionary form	Volitional form	Change
godan: う ending	買う	買おう	う → おう
godan: く ending	書く	書こう	く → こう
godan: ぐ ending	泳ぐ	泳ごう	ぐ → ごう
godan: す ending	話す	話そう	す → そう
godan: つ ending	待つ	待とう	つ → とう
godan: ぬ ending	死ぬ	死のう	ぬ → のう
godan: ぶ ending	遊ぶ	遊ぼう	ぶ → ぼう
godan: む ending	読む	読もう	む → もう
godan: る ending	帰る	帰ろう	る → ろう
ichidan	食べる	食べよう	drop る + よう
ichidan	見る	見よう	drop る + よう
irregular	する	しよう	irregular
irregular	来る	来よう（こよう）	irregular

Do not identify every る verb as ichidan: 帰る, 走る, and 入る, for example, are godan and become 帰ろう, 走ろう, and 入ろう.

ようと思う and ようと思っている

The difference is often one of viewpoint rather than a strict time rule.

• 留学しようと思います。 presents the intention as what the speaker thinks or decides now. It can also be a polite announcement of a plan.
• 留学しようと思っています。 presents the intention as an idea or plan that remains in the speaker’s mind. It often suggests prior consideration.

English “I’m thinking of studying abroad” may match either sentence. Choose according to whether you want to foreground the present decision (思う) or the continuing state of intending (思っている).

Subjects and questions

With no stated subject, ようと思う normally refers to the speaker. Japanese commonly leaves out a subject that is clear from context.

For a direct question about someone else’s plan, ようと思っていますか is especially natural:

• 卒業後、何をしようと思っていますか。 — “What are you planning to do after graduation?”

The continuing form fits because you are asking what intention the other person currently holds. When discussing a third person, と思っている also avoids presenting direct access to that person’s private thought:

• 妹は来年引っ越そうと思っています。 — “My younger sister is planning to move next year.”

The context should show how the speaker knows this—for example, the sister has said so.

Examples in Context

Japanese	English	Note
来年日本に行こうと思います。	I’m thinking of going to Japan next year.	Polite statement of intention
ダイエットしようと思っています。	I’m planning to go on a diet.	An intention already being considered
新しい仕事を探そうと思います。	I’m thinking of looking for a new job.	Current decision or announcement
何をしようと思っていますか？	What are you planning to do?	Asking about an intention the listener holds
今日は少し早く帰ろうと思う。	I think I’ll go home a little early today.	Casual style and a near-term choice
夏休みに北海道を旅行しようと思っています。	I’m planning to travel around Hokkaido during summer vacation.	Continuing plan
この本を読んでから、レポートを書こうと思います。	I think I’ll write the report after reading this book.	Sequence within a personal plan
来月から毎朝走ろうと思っています。	I’m planning to run every morning starting next month.	New routine intended for the future
週末は部屋を片づけようと思っていたけど、できなかった。	I had intended to tidy my room over the weekend, but I couldn’t.	Past intention not completed
最初は断ろうと思ったが、結局引き受けた。	At first I thought I would decline, but in the end I accepted.	A momentary past decision that changed
今日はお酒を飲まないでおこうと思います。	I think I’ll refrain from drinking alcohol today.	Natural intention not to do something
彼は大学院に進もうと思っているそうです。	I hear he is planning to go to graduate school.	Third person with reported information

Common Mistakes

Using the dictionary form before と思う

• Wrong: 来年日本に行くと思います。 when you mean “I intend to go.”
• Right: 来年日本に行こうと思います。
• Why: 行くと思います normally gives a prediction or opinion: “I think [someone] will go.” 行こうと思います uses the volitional form and expresses the speaker’s intention.

Putting ましょう before と思います

• Wrong: もっと勉強しましょうと思います。
• Right: もっと勉強しようと思います。
• Why: The quoted intention uses the plain volitional しよう. Politeness appears on the final 思います.

Treating every る verb as an ichidan verb

• Wrong: 早く帰ようと思います。
• Right: 早く帰ろうと思います。
• Why: 帰る is a godan verb, so る changes to ろう. Learn common godan る verbs individually.

Using it for events with no intention

• Wrong: 明日は雨が降ろうと思います。
• Right: 明日は雨が降ると思います。 — “I think it will rain tomorrow.”
• Why: Rain cannot form an intention. Use the plain form + と思う for a prediction or opinion.

Building a negative intention mechanically

• Awkward for the intended meaning: お酒を飲もうと思いません。
• Natural: お酒を飲まないでおこうと思います。 — “I think I’ll refrain from drinking alcohol.”
• Why: Negating 思う means “I do not think/intend to,” and can sound like a lack of inclination rather than a clear plan not to act. ないでおこうと思う explicitly presents refraining as the chosen action. Depending on meaning, 飲まないつもりです is another option.

Usage Notes

と思う is casual; と思います is polite. In both, the intention is softened by presenting it as a thought. This does not necessarily mean the speaker is indecisive. Japanese speakers often use the pattern to announce a genuine decision without making it sound like a forceful declaration.

The distinction between 思います and 思っています is not simply “weak plan” versus “strong plan.” Duration is more central. 思っています suggests that the intention exists as an ongoing mental state, so it is common for goals considered in advance and for answers in interviews. 思います can sound more immediate, but context may still make the plan quite serious.

Compare this pattern with two common English expressions. “I think I’ll call her” maps well to 電話しようと思う when the decision is being made now. English “I’m going to call her” can describe either intention or a settled arrangement; Japanese chooses more specifically among 電話しようと思っている (personal intention), 電話するつもりだ (firm intention), and other expressions for schedules.

In ordinary speech, the subject is usually omitted. Adding 私は is useful for contrast—“as for me”—but repeating it in every sentence sounds unnatural.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

Past forms do not guarantee that the action happened

ようと思った reports a thought or decision at a past moment. ようと思っていた describes an intention that continued in the past. Neither form alone says whether the action was completed:

• 電話しようと思った。 — “I thought I would call.”
• 電話しようと思っていた。 — “I had been meaning to call.”

A following clause often gives the result: 電話しようと思っていたけど、忙しくてできなかった (“I had been meaning to call, but I was too busy”).

Contrasting つもり and 予定

Japanese pattern	Approximate English	Main focus
留学しようと思っています。	I’m thinking of / planning to study abroad.	A continuing personal intention; often measured or flexible
留学するつもりです。	I intend to study abroad.	A more definite intention or resolve
留学する予定です。	I’m scheduled/planning to study abroad.	An arranged plan or expected schedule

These are tendencies, not mathematical degrees of certainty. A speaker can have a serious intention and still use ようと思っています. 予定 is especially suitable when dates, bookings, or external arrangements matter.

Negative choices

Several forms are possible, but they do not say exactly the same thing:

• 行かないでおこうと思う — “I think I’ll refrain from going”; choosing not to go.
• 行くつもりはない — “I have no intention of going”; a firm absence of intention.
• 行こうとは思わない — “I have no inclination to go / I wouldn’t think of going”; the particle は adds contrast and can sound emphatic.
• 行くまいと思う — “I am determined not to go”; formal, literary, or old-fashioned in many everyday contexts.

For normal conversation, ないでおこうと思う and ないつもりだ are the most useful options. You can recognize まい without making it your default.

Intention toward another person’s action

The volitional action is normally controlled by the person whose intention is being described. To say that you intend to make, ask, or allow someone else to do something, use an appropriate causative or request structure rather than attaching ようと思う directly to their action. For example, 先生に聞いてみようと思います means “I think I’ll try asking the teacher,” with the speaker as the one who asks.

Practice Tips

1. Build forms before sentences. Take five common verbs from different groups—such as 書く, 読む, 帰る, 食べる, する—and produce 書こう, 読もう, 帰ろう, 食べよう, しよう. Then add と思います.
2. Make two versions of each plan. Say one immediate choice with と思います and one longer-held goal with と思っています. The contrast helps you feel the viewpoint rather than memorizing an English translation.
3. Keep a short intention diary. Write one plan for today, one for next month, and one past plan that changed. Use ようと思う, ようと思っている, and ようと思っていた respectively, then state whether the past action happened.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Volitional Form — learn how forms such as 行こう, 食べよう, and しよう are built and used.