Giving Opinions in Japanese: と思います Complete Guide

Sharing what you think is at the heart of real conversation. In Japanese, one grammar pattern carries almost all of it: と思います (to omoimasu). Once you understand how it works — and why the grammar rule behind it matters — you can express opinions naturally across topics, word types, and social situations.

Why Japanese Speakers Use と思います Instead of Direct Statements

Japanese communication places high value on social harmony and indirectness. Saying "That restaurant is bad" outright can feel blunt or even confrontational; saying あのレストランはあまりよくないと思います (ano resutoran wa amari yokunai to omoimasu — "I think that restaurant isn't very good") frames the same view as a personal perspective rather than a verdict on reality.

This isn't vagueness — it's a culturally valued social skill. Native speakers use と思います many times a day precisely because it signals I'm sharing my view, not insisting on it. Learners who skip this pattern and speak too directly often come across as blunt without meaning to, even when their vocabulary and grammar are otherwise solid.

と思います literally means "I think." The particle と functions as a quotation marker — you are quoting your own thought to yourself. This is the same と you'll encounter in reported speech (と言いました, to iimashita, "said that"), so understanding it here builds a foundation you'll use across many grammar patterns.

The Essential Grammar Rule: Plain Form Before と

Here is the rule most learners miss at first, and the one that makes everything click: the clause before と must be in plain (short) form — never in polite ます or です form.

Think of と as opening a quotation window. Inside that window, speech is plain — exactly as it exists in your head before social polish is applied. The overall sentence ends politely with 思います, but the clause it quotes stays plain throughout:

❌ Incorrect: おいしいですと思います (oishii desu to omoimasu)
✅ Correct: おいしいと思います (oishii to omoimasu)

The polite ending appears only on 思います — never on the clause before と. This applies to every word type: adjectives, nouns, and verbs alike.

If you want a solid grounding in how Japanese verbs work before applying them here, the verb basics guide covers the essential foundations you'll need.

Building Opinions with Verbs, Adjectives, and Nouns

The pattern [plain form] + と思います works across all word types. Here is how each one connects:

Key point for na-adjectives and nouns: add だ before と in the affirmative plain form. Learners who know these words from polite sentences — like しずかです (shizuka desu) or がくせいです (gakusei desu) — often drop the だ and write しずかと思います. The correct plain form is しずかだと思います. The です ending never appears before と.

Many of the verbs you'll want to use in opinion sentences appear in the common Japanese verbs guide — a practical reference for building more varied opinions.

Example sentences in context:

1. このえいがはおもしろいと思います。
   Kono eiga wa omoshiroi to omoimasu.
   "I think this film is interesting." (i-adjective)
2. かれはしんせつだと思います。
   Kare wa shinsetsu da to omoimasu.
   "I think he is kind." (na-adjective + だ)
3. あしたはあめがふると思います。
   Ashita wa ame ga furu to omoimasu.
   "I think it will rain tomorrow." (plain-form verb)
4. そのかばんはたかすぎると思います。
   Sono kaban wa takasugiru to omoimasu.
   "I think that bag is too expensive." (すぎる suffix in plain form)
5. にほんごはむずかしいけど、たのしいと思います。
   Nihongo wa muzukashii kedo, tanoshii to omoimasu.
   "Japanese is hard, but I think it's fun." (two clauses joined with けど)

Negative Forms and Third-Person Opinions

Two ways to express a negative opinion

Japanese gives you two structures for disagreeing, and they carry a subtle difference in meaning:

ないと思います — the clause itself is negative (the most natural, everyday choice):
→ このえいがはあまりよくないと思います。
(Kono eiga wa amari yokunai to omoimasu.)
"I think this film isn't very good."

と思いません — the act of thinking is negated (slightly more emphatic, less common in casual speech):
→ このえいがはよいと思いません。
(Kono eiga wa yoi to omoimasen.)
"I don't think this film is good."

In practice, reach for ないと思います first. It sounds more natural in conversation and is what you'll hear most often from native speakers.

と思っています: ongoing beliefs and third-person opinions

When expressing what you believe to be an ongoing situation — or talking about someone else's presumed state — use と思っています (to omotteimasu), the ている continuous form of 思う:

→ かれはにほんごをべんきょうしていると思っています。
(Kare wa Nihongo wo benkyō shite iru to omotteimasu.)
"I think he is studying Japanese." (ongoing state)

This form also applies to firmly held convictions you've maintained over time, as opposed to a fresh, in-the-moment opinion.

Asking for Opinions: どう思いますか？

Once you can express opinions, you'll need to ask for them. The essential question is:

どう思いますか？ (Dō omoimasu ka?) — "What do you think?"

To ask about a specific topic, add について (ni tsuite, "about/regarding") beforehand:

→ このアイデアについてどう思いますか？
(Kono aidea ni tsuite dō omoimasu ka?)
"What do you think about this idea?"

With friends, the plain form works fine: どう思う？ (Dō omou?) When someone asks you どう思いますか？, your answer is ready: [plain form] + と思います.

A: このカフェ、どう思いますか？
(Kono kafe, dō omoimasu ka?) — "What do you think of this café?"
B: とてもおしゃれだと思います！
(Totemo oshare da to omoimasu!) — "I think it's very stylish!"

Ready to try this kind of back-and-forth with a real teacher? Start your Free Trial lesson with Kind Japanese — one-on-one conversation practice over LINE, where you can rehearse giving and asking for opinions on topics that genuinely interest you.

Common Mistakes Learners Make

1. Polite form before と
The most widespread error: attaching です or ます to the clause before と. No matter how politely you want to express yourself, the clause inside the quotation window must stay in plain form. This is the single rule that, once internalized, prevents the majority of と思います errors.

2. Dropping だ after na-adjectives and nouns
Learners who have absorbed "しずかです = it's quiet" in polite sentences often write しずかと思います — omitting the だ that plain form requires. The correct forms are しずかだと思います and がくせいだと思います.

3. Confusing ないと思います and と思いません
Both express a negative opinion, but learners sometimes reach for と思いません when ないと思います is the more natural choice. Unless you specifically want to emphasize that you do not hold a particular belief, the negative-clause form (ないと思います) is safer and more conversational.

4. Applying と思います to others' ongoing states
と思います describes your current opinion right now. To express what you believe about someone else's state, or a conviction you hold over time, use と思っています instead.

5. Mixing up と and て
The て-form connects verb actions in sequence; the と here quotes a thought. They are entirely different particles with different roles — confusing them produces grammatically broken sentences even when individual words are correct.

Practice: Test Your Understanding

Part 1 — Fill in the blank (all answers: と)

Part 2 — What does it mean?

Part 3 — Translate into Japanese

Bonus challenge: Write three original sentences — one using an i-adjective, one using a na-adjective, and one using a verb. Say them aloud; speaking the pattern out loud is one of the fastest ways to make it stick.

FAQ

Can I use と思います in writing as well as speech?

Yes. と思います appears naturally in both spoken conversation and written Japanese — emails, text messages, essays, and even formal documents all use it. For casual spoken conversation with friends, the plain equivalent と思う (to omou) works perfectly and means exactly the same thing.

Is と思います only for present opinions, or can I express past ones too?

You can express any tense by changing the plain-form clause before と. Use the past plain form of the word: おいしかったと思います (I think it was delicious), いったと思います (I think they went). Only the embedded clause changes tense; 思います itself stays in the present form.

What is the difference between と思います and と思っています?

と思います expresses a fresh, current opinion — something you are thinking right now. と思っています describes an ongoing belief or what you believe to be true about someone else's situation. In everyday usage: と思います for "here is what I think at this moment," と思っています for "here is what I believe to be the case over time."

How do I say "I think so too" in Japanese?

Two natural options: そうですね (sō desu ne — "That's right, isn't it") agrees warmly with someone's point in a general way. For a fuller response that mirrors the pattern in this lesson, use わたしもそう思います (watashi mo sō omoimasu — "I think so too"), where そう ("so/that") acts as the quoted content before と思います.

Continue learning

The feelings and emotional vocabulary from the expressing feelings in Japanese guide pair naturally with と思います — now you can attach an opinion to any emotion you describe. Next, put your conversational skills to work in a practical real-world setting with the Japanese phone conversation guide.

This is Lesson 85 of the Kind Japanese 100-day beginner curriculum.