思います（おもいます、omoimasu）
- to think

The Japanese word 思います, read as おもいます (omoi-masu), primarily means "to think," "to believe," "to consider," or "to feel." It expresses a thought process, an opinion, or a feeling. It’s a versatile verb, and the specific nuance depends on the context. 思います can encompass a range of mental activities, from simple thoughts to strong convictions.

⚫︎ 私はそう思います。 Translation: I think so. ⚫︎ 明日は雨だと思います。 Translation: I think it will rain tomorrow. ⚫︎ 彼女は親切だと思います。 Translation: I think she is kind.

You can use 思います in various situations to express your: ⚫︎ Opinion: When you want to state what you believe or think. ⚫︎ Prediction: When you want to predict something (often used with weather or future events). ⚫︎ Evaluation: When you want to express your assessment of something or someone. ⚫︎ Feelings: Though not the primary meaning, it can also subtly convey feelings or emotions. It’s often used with the particle と to introduce the content of your thought (e.g., 〜と思います – "I think that..."). It is a polite form of the verb.

思います is written in hiragana as おもいます. The kanji form is 思います, using the kanji 思 (omo - thought, idea, think) and the polite verb ending います (imasu - is/are/am). The okurigana (hiragana attached to kanji) is always います. The masu-stem is 思い (omoi-), used for forming other verb conjugations such as 思います, 思いません (omoi-masen - don't think/believe) etc. The plain form is 思う (omou).

Some words with similar meanings (depending on context): ⚫︎ 考えます (kangaemasu) – to think, to consider (more deliberative) ⚫︎ 信じます (shinjimasu) – to believe, to trust ⚫︎ 感じます (kanjimasu) – to feel, to sense (more related to emotions or physical sensations) ⚫︎ 推測します (suisoku shimasu) – to guess, to speculate

There aren’t direct antonyms, as 思います expresses a process or state of mind. However, contrasting ideas or actions might be: ⚫︎ 知りません (shirimasen) - I don't know ⚫︎ 否定します (hitei shimasu) - to deny, to negate

私はこの映画は面白いと思います。 ・Translation: I think this movie is interesting. ・Explanation: This sentence expresses the speaker's opinion about a movie, stating that they find it interesting. The particle は (wa) marks the topic, この映画 (kono eiga - this movie) is the topic of the sentence. The particle が (ga) could also be used here.

明日のテストは難しいと思います。 ・Translation: I think tomorrow's test will be difficult. ・Explanation: This sentence expresses the speaker's prediction about the difficulty of a test. It is used to express the speaker's anticipation or assessment before tomorrow.

The kanji 思 (omo) combines two parts: 田 (ta) which originally depicted a field, and 心 (kokoro) which depicts heart or mind. The meaning evolved to represent thinking or having a feeling or an idea from the heart. The verb ending います is a polite conjugation of the verb いる (iru - to be) when speaking in polite Japanese.