~To Omoimasu
Omoimasu (Omou) is used when you are expressing that you are thinking of doing something. The usage is “Verb follow by Omoimasu”.
Example :
Q : What would you read? – Nani o yomimasu ka
A : I think I’m going to read a novel – Shōsetsu o (yomu)yomō to omoimasu
In the above example, the verb, “yomu (よむ)” is converted into “yomō (よもう)” which means “Let’s Read”. The converted verb “yomō” is same as the polite form-“yomimashō”. Example : Iku – Ikō ; Kaeru – Kaerō ; Nomu – Nomō. The conversion is simple, just change the last hiragana character to the 5th sound and add a “u” if you are writing in hiragana – よむ >> よもう. In romaji, the “mo u” is typed as “mō”.
When “to omoimasu” is used, you cannot use the polite form of verb follow by “to omoimasu”. For instance, “Yomimashō to omoimasu” is WRONG.
More examples :
Q : What would you listen? – Nani o kikimasu ka
A : I think I am going to listen to Japanese News – Nihongo no nyu-su o (kiku)kikō to omoimasu
September 12th, 2008 at 2:41 am
when u said yomishou to omoimasu
do u meant yomimashou to omoimasu.. maybe a typo there..
September 12th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
Hi Darron, yes, it was a typo error. Thanks for pointing it out.
January 8th, 2010 at 1:36 am
Great Article. Very useful. Thanks!
March 1st, 2010 at 12:36 am
Nice! Thanks!
April 25th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
Thank you for this! The negative form would be “…to wa omoimasen.” is this ok?
April 25th, 2010 at 11:25 pm
“to wa omoimasen” is ok
but it is a lot different in terms of expression and meaning than plain “to omoimasen”
because there is a particle “wa” there, there will be focus on the topic.
October 29th, 2010 at 9:54 am
My Japanese teacher said that this doesn’t just mean “thinking of doing something” but just a way to state your opinion on something.
e.g.: Tai ryouri wa mazui to omoimasu. (I think Thai food tastes bad.) is a proper usage.
September 23rd, 2011 at 7:11 pm
so since your using the informal version of the first verd, does that make these sentences informal ?
or does the first informal verb not matter since “to omoimasu” is at the end
September 23rd, 2011 at 7:36 pm
Taran,
Yes, it does not matter. In fact you have to use informal form for ~to omoimasu. You can’t say yomimasu to omoimasu