Japanese Future Tense: Four Ways to Express Future Plans

Japanese does not have a dedicated future tense. That is actually welcome news — you do not need to memorise a brand-new set of verb endings. The same non-past verb form you already use for present and habitual actions covers the future too; a time word does the rest of the work. Where things get interesting — and where most learners hit a wall — is expressing how certain a future event is. Is it a vague intention? A confirmed appointment? An educated prediction about the weather? For that level of precision, Japanese has three additional structures: つもり (tsumori), 予定 (yotei), and でしょう (deshō). This guide covers all four, with a full comparison table, example sentences, and a practice quiz.

Ready to put these structures to use in a real conversation? Book a Free Trial lesson with Kind Japanese on LINE and practise talking about your future plans one-on-one with a tutor.

How the Japanese Future Tense Works

Japanese verbs have just two tenses: past and non-past. The non-past form — ending in ～ます (masu) in polite speech — covers both present habits and future actions. What signals "future" to your listener is a time expression in the sentence, not a different verb form.

Common time words that push a sentence into the future:

Drop あした into a sentence and every listener immediately understands you mean tomorrow — no new verb form needed. For a thorough look at how the same ～ます endings behave in present-tense contexts, the guide to Japanese present-tense verb forms covers the conjugations you are already relying on here.

The Four Key Future-Tense Structures

Here is the complete reference for expressing future meaning in Japanese. Every structure serves a distinct communicative purpose.

The first row is the foundation every beginner learns. The next three add meaningful precision. ～たいです (want to do) sits slightly apart — it expresses desire rather than a firm plan — but it comes up so often in future-oriented conversation that it belongs in this table.

つもり vs. 予定: Intentions vs. Scheduled Plans

Both つもりです and 予定です translate loosely as "I'm going to…" in English, but they are not interchangeable in Japanese.

つもりです — personal intention

Use this when you have decided something in your own mind but have not yet confirmed it with anyone else.

Form: [Verb dictionary form] + つもりです

• 来年、日本語を勉強するつもりです。 Rainen, Nihongo o benkyō suru tsumori desu. I intend to study Japanese next year.
• お酒を飲まないつもりです。 Osake o nomanai tsumori desu. I don't intend to drink alcohol. (For the negative, attach ない to the verb before つもりです.)

予定です — confirmed plan

Use this when something is already booked, arranged, or officially on the calendar.

Form: [Verb dictionary form] + 予定です

• 来週、東京に行く予定です。 Raishū, Tōkyō ni iku yotei desu. I have a trip to Tokyo scheduled next week.
• 来月、友だちの結婚式がある予定です。 Raigetsu, tomodachi no kekkonshiki ga aru yotei desu. My friend's wedding is scheduled next month.

Cultural note: In a Japanese workplace, 予定です is the expected form for any professional commitment. Using つもりです about a confirmed client meeting or project deadline can sound tentative — as though you are still just thinking about it. Once something is in the diary and confirmed with others, 予定 is the word.

でしょう: Predictions About the Future

でしょう is the polite equivalent of だろう (darō) and adds the meaning "probably" or "I expect that…" to any statement. It follows the plain (dictionary) form of a verb, or attaches directly to a noun or adjective.

Form: [Verb plain form / noun / い-adjective / な-adjective stem + な] + でしょう

• 明日は雨でしょう。 Ashita wa ame deshō. It will probably rain tomorrow. (noun)
• 彼は来るでしょう。 Kare wa kuru deshō. He will probably come. (verb plain form)
• 試験は難しいでしょう。 Shiken wa muzukashii deshō. The exam will probably be difficult. (い-adjective)

One rule to burn in: never attach でしょう to the ます form. 食べるでしょう ✓ — ~~食べますでしょう~~ ✗. This error appears most often in writing, so double-check whenever you compose a formal message.

When でしょう follows an adjective, the い-adjective versus な-adjective distinction determines the exact attachment point. The guide to useful Japanese adjectives explains that distinction in full.

Example Sentences in Context

Five sentences, one per structure, grounded in realistic everyday situations.

1. あした、友だちに会います。 Ashita, tomodachi ni aimasu. I'll meet a friend tomorrow. (neutral future with time word)
2. 来年、日本に行くつもりです。 Rainen, Nihon ni iku tsumori desu. I intend to go to Japan next year. (personal intention)
3. 来月、仕事で大阪に行く予定です。 Raigetsu, shigoto de Ōsaka ni iku yotei desu. I'm scheduled to go to Osaka for work next month. (confirmed plan)
4. 明日は寒いでしょう。 Ashita wa samui deshō. It will probably be cold tomorrow. (prediction)
5. 日本語が上手になりたいです。 Nihongo ga jōzu ni naritai desu. I want to become good at Japanese. (desire for the future)

Each sentence follows the standard topic-comment word order covered in the guide to basic Japanese sentence structure. If placing time words, objects, and verb endings in the right slots still feels uncertain, that article is the foundation to revisit.

Common Mistakes When Talking About the Future

Swapping つもり and 予定. Learners frequently use these interchangeably because English "I'm going to…" covers both meanings. In Japanese they signal different levels of commitment. A reliable test: if the plan still exists only in your head, use つもりです. If it is confirmed with another person or written in a calendar, use 予定です.

Omitting the time word. Without a time expression, 行きます could mean "I go regularly" or "I'll go." Context usually rescues the meaning in spoken conversation, but adding あした or 来週 removes all ambiguity and sounds more natural to native ears.

Attaching でしょう to the ます form. でしょう must follow the plain (dictionary) form. 行くでしょう is correct; ~~行きますでしょう~~ is not. This mistake is especially common in written Japanese, so get into the habit of checking.

Using ～たい as a concrete plan. 日本に行きたいです is a wish — "I want to go to Japan" — not a commitment. If you have actually started planning, 行くつもりです or 行く予定です is the right choice. Using たい when you mean つもり can lead listeners to think you are only daydreaming.

Reaching for が with time words. Time expressions take は (optional) or simply appear bare. Using が with a time word — ~~明日が行きます~~ — is a persistent beginner error. が marks subjects and objects; time references stand outside that grammatical role.

Practice Quiz

① Fill in the blank

② Pick the right structure

③ Translate into Japanese

FAQ

Does Japanese have a future tense verb form?

No — Japanese does not have a dedicated future tense. The non-past form (e.g., 行きます, ikimasu) covers both present habits and future actions. Adding a time word such as 明日 (ashita, tomorrow) or 来週 (raishū, next week) is what signals to your listener that you are talking about the future.

What is the difference between つもり and 予定 in Japanese?

つもりです expresses a personal intention you have formed in your own mind but have not yet confirmed externally. 予定です refers to something already scheduled or arranged with others — a booked flight, a set meeting. Quick rule: still in your head → つもり; on the calendar → 予定.

How do I say "will probably" in Japanese?

Use でしょう after the plain (dictionary) form of the verb. 行くでしょう (iku deshō) means "will probably go." In casual conversation, the informal equivalent is だろう (darō). でしょう is the polite form and appropriate for most everyday and professional situations.

Can ～たいです express a future plan?

Not quite — ～たいです expresses desire ("I want to…"), not intention or a scheduled plan. 日本に行きたいです means "I want to go to Japan." For a concrete future intention use 行くつもりです; for a confirmed arrangement use 行く予定です. Mixing these up is one of the most common intermediate-level errors.

Continue Learning

• Previous lesson: How to talk about your day in Japanese — building sentences about past and present daily events is the natural bridge to constructing future-tense plans around the same vocabulary.
• Next lesson: Making and accepting invitations in Japanese — invitations are exactly the real-world context where 予定 and つもり come up most naturally in conversation.

This article is Lesson 81 of the Kind Japanese 100-day beginner curriculum.