28. Expressing Opinions

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Vocabulary

思う (おもう) omou

to think

Group 1 verb

The most common verb type. The ending sound changes depending on how you use it — like how 飲む (drink) becomes 飲みます in formal speech.

Dictionary form

思う (おもう)

omou

私はいいと思う

watashi wa ii to omou — I think it's good

Formal present

思います (おもいます)

omoimasu

とてもいいと思います

totemo ii to omoimasu — I think it's very good

Casual negative

思わない (おもわない)

omowanai

それはいいと思わない

sore wa ii to omowanai — I don't think that's good

Formal negative

思いません (おもいません)

omoimasen

そうは思いません

sou wa omoimasen — I don't think so

Casual past

思った (おもった)

omotta

いい話だと思った

ii hanashi da to omotta — I thought it was a good story

Formal past

思いました (おもいました)

omoimashita

とてもいいと思いました

totemo ii to omoimashita — I thought it was very good

Casual past negative

思わなかった (おもわなかった)

omowanakatta

そうは思わなかった

sou wa omowanakatta — I didn't think so

Formal past negative

思いませんでした (おもいませんでした)

omoimasen deshita

大きいとは思いませんでした

ookii to wa omoimasen deshita — I didn't think it was big

Te-form

思って (おもって)

omotte

いいと思って買いました

ii to omotte kaimashita — I thought it was good and bought it

私はいいと思う

watashi wa ii to omou — I think it's good

明日は休みだと思います

ashita wa yasumi da to omoimasu — I think tomorrow is a day off

この本はとても好きだと思う

kono hon wa totemo suki da to omou — I think I really like this book

言う (いう) iu

to say

Group 1 verb

The most common verb type. The ending sound changes depending on how you use it — like how 飲む (drink) becomes 飲みます in formal speech.

Dictionary form

言う (いう)

友達が何と言う？

tomodachi ga nan to iu? — What does your friend say?

Formal present

言います (いいます)

iimasu

先生は何と言いますか

sensei wa nan to iimasu ka — What does the teacher say?

Casual negative

言わない (いわない)

iwanai

何も言わない

nani mo iwanai — I won't say anything

Formal negative

言いません (いいません)

iimasen

名前は言いません

namae wa iimasen — I won't say the name

Casual past

言った (いった)

itta

友達がそう言った

tomodachi ga sou itta — My friend said so

Formal past

言いました (いいました)

iimashita

先生がそう言いました

sensei ga sou iimashita — The teacher said so

Casual past negative

言わなかった (いわなかった)

iwanakatta

何も言わなかった

nani mo iwanakatta — I didn't say anything

Formal past negative

言いませんでした (いいませんでした)

iimasen deshita

名前は言いませんでした

namae wa iimasen deshita — I didn't say the name

Te-form

言って (いって)

itte

もう一回言ってください

mou ikkai itte kudasai — Please say it one more time

先生は何と言いましたか

sensei wa nan to iimashita ka — What did the teacher say?

友達が「おはよう」と言った

tomodachi ga ohayou to itta — My friend said "good morning"

日本語で何と言いますか

nihongo de nan to iimasu ka — How do you say it in Japanese?

考える (かんがえる) kangaeru

to think about; to consider

Group 2 verb

A simpler verb type that always ends in る. To change the form, just drop the る and add a new ending — like 食べる (eat) becomes 食べます.

Dictionary form

考える (かんがえる)

kangaeru

ちょっと考える

chotto kangaeru — I'll think about it a bit

Formal present

考えます (かんがえます)

kangaemasu

よく考えます

yoku kangaemasu — I'll think about it carefully

Casual negative

考えない (かんがえない)

kangaenai

何も考えない

nani mo kangaenai — I'm not thinking about anything

Formal negative

考えません (かんがえません)

kangaemasen

そう考えません

sou kangaemasen — I don't think so

Casual past

考えた (かんがえた)

kangaeta

よく考えた

yoku kangaeta — I thought about it a lot

Formal past

考えました (かんがえました)

kangaemashita

昨日よく考えました

kinou yoku kangaemashita — I thought about it a lot yesterday

Casual past negative

考えなかった (かんがえなかった)

kangaenakatta

それは考えなかった

sore wa kangaenakatta — I didn't think about that

Formal past negative

考えませんでした (かんがえませんでした)

kangaemasen deshita

その事は考えませんでした

sono koto wa kangaemasen deshita — I didn't think about that matter

Te-form

考えて (かんがえて)

kangaete

もう少し考えてください

mou sukoshi kangaete kudasai — Please think about it a little more

ちょっと考えます

chotto kangaemasu — Let me think about it a bit

何を考えていますか

nani wo kangaete imasu ka — What are you thinking about?

よく考えてください

yoku kangaete kudasai — Please think about it carefully

話 (はなし) hanashi

talk; story

Noun

A word for a person, place, thing, or idea.

いい話ですね

ii hanashi desu ne — That's a nice story

その話は本当ですか

sono hanashi wa hontou desu ka — Is that story true?

話があります

hanashi ga arimasu — I have something to tell you

事 (こと) koto

thing; matter

Noun

A word for a person, place, thing, or idea.

大事な事です

daiji na koto desu — It's an important thing

好きな事は何ですか

suki na koto wa nan desu ka — What do you like to do?

いい事がありました

ii koto ga arimashita — Something good happened

でも demo

but; however

Connecting word

A word that joins sentences together — like でも (but), そして (and then), だから (so/because of that).

忙しいです。でも元気です

isogashii desu. demo genki desu — I'm busy. But I'm doing well

高いです。でもとてもいいです

takai desu. demo totemo ii desu — It's expensive. But it's very good

でも、私はこれが好きです

demo, watashi wa kore ga suki desu — But I like this one

だから dakara

so; therefore

Connecting word

A word that joins sentences together — like でも (but), そして (and then), だから (so/because of that).

明日はテストです。だから今日勉強します

ashita wa tesuto desu. dakara kyou benkyou shimasu — Tomorrow is the test. So I'll study today

忙しいです。だから行きません

isogashii desu. dakara ikimasen — I'm busy. So I'm not going

日本語が好きです。だから毎日勉強します

nihongo ga suki desu. dakara mainichi benkyou shimasu — I like Japanese. So I study every day

とても totemo

very; extremely

Adverb

A word that describes how, when, or how much something happens — like とても (very) or いつも (always).

この本はとてもいいです

kono hon wa totemo ii desu — This book is very good

今日はとても忙しいです

kyou wa totemo isogashii desu — Today is very busy

日本語はとても好きです

nihongo wa totemo suki desu — I like Japanese very much

Grammar

～と思う

I think (that)...

Use ～と思う when you want to share your opinion or feeling about something. Put what you think before と思う. It's like saying "I think that..." in English. This is your go-to pattern for expressing opinions.

Pattern

[sentence] + と思う

[sentence] + と思います

[sentence] + と思う (casual) [sentence] + と思います (polite) If the sentence ends with a な-adjective or noun, add だ before と: いい + と思う → いいと思う好きだ + と思う → 好きだと思う大丈夫だ + と思う → 大丈夫だと思う

Examples

この本はいいと思いますI think this book is good

kono hon wa ii to omoimasu

明日は大丈夫だと思うI think tomorrow will be fine

ashita wa daijoubu da to omou

日本語はとても好きだと思いますI think I really like Japanese

nihongo wa totemo suki da to omoimasu

と思う is for your own opinions and feelings. You can't use it to state facts - "Tokyo is in Japan" doesn't need と思う.
To say what someone else thinks, add the person's name: 友達もそう思います (My friend thinks so too).

～と言う

to say (that)...

Use ～と言う to report what someone said. Put the words or idea before と言う. It's like saying "(someone) said that..." in English. You can report exact words or just the general idea.

Pattern

[what was said] + と言う

[what was said] + と言います

[what was said] + と言う (casual) [what was said] + と言います (polite) [what was said] + と言った (casual past) [what was said] + と言いました (polite past) Exact quote: 「おはよう」と言った General idea: いいと言った

Examples

先生はテストは大丈夫だと言いましたThe teacher said the test will be fine

sensei wa tesuto wa daijoubu da to iimashita

友達が「おはよう」と言ったMy friend said "good morning"

tomodachi ga ohayou to itta

母は忙しいと言いましたMy mother said she's busy

haha wa isogashii to iimashita

Use そう言う to mean "say so" or "say that" - 先生もそう言いました (The teacher said so too).
と言う works for both exact quotes and general ideas. For exact words, you can use quotation marks: 「ありがとう」と言った.

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28. Expressing Opinions

Coming Soon

Vocabulary

Grammar

Unlock Full Lesson Content

Cultural Notes

Thinking vs. Considering

Softening with と思います

Using でも to Soften Disagreement