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Meaning & Usage

✨ Basic Meaning

The Volitional Form (意向形, Ikōkei) expresses the speaker’s personal intention, resolve, or a suggestion/invitation to the listener to perform an action together.

🎯 Primary Function

To convey the speaker’s will (intention/resolve) or to propose a joint action (invitation/suggestion).

📋 Grammar Structure

Verb (Volitional Form) + (Contextual Particle or Auxiliary Verb)
N/A (The Volitional Form applies only to verbs.)
N/A (The Volitional Form applies only to verbs.)
Volitional Form + とは思わない/しないようにする (Not used directly for negative volition)

🎭 Usage Contexts

🏢 Formal Situations

Generally avoided or used in a more subdued manner (often replaced by 〜ましょう or a more polite structure) unless reporting one’s own tentative plans (e.g., in a business meeting, you might say 「〇〇しようと思っています」).

😊 Informal Situations

Used very frequently and naturally among friends, family, and close colleagues for suggestions and personal intentions.

✍️ Written Language

Used in informal writing (emails, texts) and sometimes in formal writing to express a group’s or company’s resolution or goal.

🗣️ Spoken Language

Essential and extremely common. It is the default informal way to say “Let’s” or “I think I will.”

💡 Common Applications

Expressing Personal Intention or Resolution
When combined with 「と思う (to think)」, it expresses a decision or plan the speaker has made. This is the most common usage for personal intention.
Example: もっと早く起きようと思っています。 (Motto hayaku okiyō to omotte imasu. – I intend to wake up earlier.)
Making a Suggestion or Invitation (Let’s)
When used alone, it functions as an informal and friendly suggestion or invitation, similar to “Let’s do X.” This usage is common among friends and peers.
Example: みんなでレストランへ行こう。 (Minna de resutoran e ikō. – Let’s all go to the restaurant.)
Expressing an Effort Toward a Goal (〜ようとする)
Used with 「とする」 to mean “to try to do X” or “to attempt X,” indicating effort or a focus on a specific action.
Example: 彼は日本語を忘れないようにしようとした。 (Kare wa Nihongo o wasurenai yō ni shiyō to shita. – He tried not to forget Japanese.)
📊
Frequency
High. It is very frequently used in daily conversation to express plans, intentions, and suggestions among friends and family.
🎚️
Difficulty
N4 (Intermediate Foundation)
Tag:

Related Kanji

JLPT N4 Kanji List

Related Vocabulary

JLPT N4 Vocabulary List
Example Sentences
Example #1
週末、一緒に映画を見に行こうか。
Furigana: しゅうまつ、いっしょにえいがをみにいこうか。
Romaji: Shūmatsu, issho ni eiga o mi ni ikō ka.
English: Shall we go see a movie this weekend?
Example #2
明日からは、もっと日本語を勉強しようと思います。
Furigana: あしたからは、もっとにほんごをべんきょうしようとおもいます。
Romaji: Ashita kara wa, motto Nihongo o benkyō shiyō to omoimasu.
English: I intend to study Japanese harder from tomorrow.
Example #3
遅くなったから、そろそろ帰ろう。
Furigana: おそくなったから、そろそろかえろう。
Romaji: Osoku natta kara, sorosoro kaerō.
English: It’s getting late, let’s go home soon.
Example #4
彼は来年までにN2に合格しようと頑張っている。
Furigana: かれはらいねんまでにN2にごうかくしようとがんばっている。
Romaji: Kare wa rainen made ni N2 ni gōkaku shiyō to ganbatte iru.
English: He is working hard with the intention of passing the N2 next year.
Example #5
もう、夜中の食べ物は食べないようにしよう。
Furigana: もう、よなかのたべものはたべないようにしよう。
Romaji: Mō, yonaka no tabemono wa tabenai yō ni shiyō.
English: I’ve decided not to eat late-night snacks anymore.
Example #6
明日、このレシピで料理を作ってみようと思います。
Furigana: あした、このレシピでりょうりをつくってみようとおもいます。
Romaji: Ashita, kono reshipi de ryōri o tsukutte miyō to omoimasu.
English: I think I will try cooking this recipe tomorrow.
Example #7
プロジェクトの成功に乾杯しよう！
Furigana: プロジェクトのせいこうにかんぱいしよう！
Romaji: Purojekuto no seikō ni kanpai shiyō!
English: Let’s drink a toast to the success of the project!
Example #8
絶対に諦めずに、最後までやり遂げよう。
Furigana: ぜったいにあきらめずに、さいごまでやりとげよう。
Romaji: Zettai ni akiramezu ni, saigo made yaritogeyō.
English: I will definitely not give up and will finish this task until the very end.
Example #9
大学を卒業したら、海外で暮らそうと考えている。
Furigana: だいがくをそつぎょうしたら、かいがいでくらそうとかんがえている。
Romaji: Daigaku o sotsugyō shitara, kaigai de kurasō to kangaete iru.
English: They plan to live overseas after graduating from university.
Example #10
疲れたから、少し休もうか。
Furigana: つかれたから、すこしやすもうか。
Romaji: Tsukareta kara, sukoshi yasumō ka.
English: Let’s take a short break because I’m tired.
Notes & Nuances

📌 Important Points

Volitional Form Alone = Suggestion (‘Let’s’)
When used alone, the Volitional Form is an invitation or suggestion directed at the listener. The speaker is proposing a joint action.
Example: 映画を見よう。 (Eiga o miyō. – Let’s watch a movie.)
Volitional Form + と思う/と考えている = Personal Intention/Plan
Adding 「と思う」 or 「と考えている」 softens the intention and makes it sound more like a tentative plan or decision rather than a firm, immediate resolve. This is the most common structure for personal intention.
Example: 明日、掃除をしようと思っています。 (Ashita, sōji o shiyō to omotte imasu. – I think I will clean tomorrow.)
Volitional Form + とする = To try to/To be about to
The pattern 「〜ようとする」 means “to try to do X” or “to be about to do X,” indicating an attempt or the moment just before an action starts.
Example: 水を飲もうとして、コップを落とした。 (Mizu o nomō to shite, koppu o otoshita. – I was about to drink water, but I dropped the glass.)

⚠️ Common Mistakes

❌ 食べる -> 食べろう (taberō)
✅ 食べよう (tabeyō)
Group 2 verbs always replace the final る with よう. Students often mistakenly apply the Group 1 rule.
❌ 書く -> 書よう (kayō)
✅ 書こう (kakō)
Group 1 verbs must change the final vowel sound from the ‘u’ column to the ‘o’ column before adding う.
❌ 勉強しようと思います。 (Benkyō shiyō to omoimasu.) — Note: This is correct, but mixing 〜よう with just ます is the mistake (e.g., 食べようます). The mistake is often in conjugation, not in the use of 〜と思う.
✅ 日本語を勉強しよう。 (Nihongo o benkyō shiyō.)
Mixing the casual Volitional form (〜よう) with the polite ending (〜ます) is grammatically incorrect and jarring. Use 〜ましょう for the polite form.

🏛️ Cultural Context

Politeness Level: The Volitional Form (〜よう/〜う) is casual and informal. Its polite counterpart is the 〜ましょう form (e.g., 食べましょう, 行きましょう). You should use 〜ましょう when speaking to superiors or people you don’t know well.
Social Situations: Used among equals, friends, family, and younger people. Using the casual Volitional form with a superior can sound overly familiar or rude.
Regional Variations: The formation is standard across Japan, but some regional dialects might use different particles or auxiliary verbs to express intention or suggestion. However, the standard 〜よう/〜う form is universally understood.

🔍 Subtle Differences

Volitional Form (〜よう/〜う) vs. 〜ましょう
〜よう/〜う is casual/informal. 〜ましょう is polite/formal.
When to use: Use 〜よう/〜う with friends and family. Use 〜ましょう with strangers, superiors, or in formal situations.
〜ようと思う vs. 〜たい
〜ようと思う expresses a plan or decision (intention). 〜たい expresses a desire or wish (want).
When to use: Use 〜ようと思う when stating what you have decided to do. Use 〜たい when stating what you wish to do.

📝 Conjugation Notes

The Volitional Form is created by modifying the dictionary form of the verb. Group 1 (U-verbs) change the final ‘u’ sound syllable to the ‘o’ sound and add ‘う’. Group 2 (Ru-verbs) replace ‘る’ with ‘よう’. Group 3 (Irregular verbs) are irregular: する -> しよう, 来る (くる) -> 来よう (こよう).

🔊 Pronunciation Tips

The final ‘う’ in Group 1 Volitional forms (e.g., 飲もう, いこう) is pronounced as a long ‘o’ sound, not as two distinct vowels. (e.g., ‘ikōō,’ not ‘i-kō-u’). Be sure to stretch the vowel.

🧠 Memory Tips

To remember the Group 1 conjugation, think of the vowel change as going “down” one step (from u to o) and then stretching it out with a long ‘u’ sound (う), like making a deep, resolute sound: ‘o-u’ (おう). For Group 2, just remember to replace the ‘ru’ with ‘yō’.

Other Grammar

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