To Think
“We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.” – Buddha
Thinking is probably the most important thing you can ever do. Let’s learn how to express your thoughts in Japanese.
First, let’s make sure you remember the word for “to think.” You learned it earlier, but it doesn’t hurt to review.
“To think” in Japanese is おもいます／おもう
Before you move on, though, I actually want you to learn the kanji for おもいます. It’s not a kanji you’re supposed to learn until later, but now that you have some kanji abilities I think the occassional common kanji here and there won’t hurt (and help, instead). Take a look at this kanji:
思
How do you know the meaning of this kanji? Well, it has the radicals rice field (田) and heart (心). Imagine yourself going into a ricefield, trying to find its heart. You get to the middle, and see something pulsating. It’s a brain, which is what a rice field has instead of a heart (that’s why it has all those grooves and stuff in it). You pick it up. It’s THINKING.
Anyways, that’s the kanji. We’ll use it a ton this lesson, obviously, so you’ll learn it whether you want to or not. Just make sure you do your part and learn the reading: おもいます or おもう (for casual). Got it? Good. Okay, no more hiragana おもう from here on out.
In terms of actually using this verb the most common way to use it is with the と particle before it. For example:
_______________ と 思います／思う
In Japanese, the “I think” part comes at the very end, not at the beginning (as it often does in English) because, as you already know, the verb goes on the end of the sentence.
This is a lot like と言った, which you learned in the last chapter. It’s something you add on to the end of a phrase or sentence to say what you’re doing with it, sort of. With と言った you’re saying “blahblahblahblah” I/he said. With と思う you’re saying “blahblahblah” I think. Same sort of deal, just a different verb attached to the end.
Unlike と言った, though, there are some rules associated with it (since you’re not quoting what someone said this time). Nouns, adjectives, and verbs all have different rules.
Here’s what the next few pages will look like:
1. Noun + と 思う (i.e. “I think he’s a student”)
2. Adjective + と 思う (i.e. “I think he is stupid”)
3. Verb + と 思う (i.e. “I think he went to Singapore”)
Before you move on, there’s just one quick thing I want you to think about. With the と, it’s like you’re saying the following:
＿＿＿＿＿＿＿と思います
___________ with thinking
Now, you’ll have to get over your conceptions on how “with thinking” would (or, more accurately, wouldn’t) work in English. But, if you think about it a bit, it actually makes a bit of sense. You can do things (with thinking), you can comment on things (with thinking), and you can pretty much do anything (with thinking). Instead of saying “I think she’s cute,” you are saying “she is cute with thinking.” You are basically letting someone know about something, but also telling them that there is some thinking along with that. i.e., you think something.
Hopefully that makes more sense than just saying “that’s the way it works” (that’s how it’s normally taught). That being said, と思います is a pretty good “set phrase” to learn (i.e. the と and the 思います go together a lot, so you can remember them basically as one). Occassionally you’ll see 思います paired with a に or an を (or possibly another particle), but I’d say 90% of the time と思います will be the right choice, so we’re going to focus on that for now.