If you’ve ever set foot in Japan, you might have noticed how overly cautious Japanese people can be about everything. From signs on the street, to packaging labels and seals on electronic products, this is a country where the number one rule is 安全第一 : Safety First.
If Apple was Japanese
デザインのことは良く分かりませんが、もしもアップルが日本の会社だったらたぶんiPhoneはこうなってたと思います。 pic.twitter.com/5qfcxFNlBc
— ひろやまひろし (@hiroshi_) September 25, 2018
デザインのことは良く分かりませんが、もしもアップルが日本の会社だったらたぶんiPhoneはこうなってたと思います。= I don’t know much about design, but if Apple was a Japanese company the iPhone would probably look like this.
@hiroshi_ struck a chord with many Japanese Twitter users with this hilarious image picturing what an iPhone would look like if sold by a Japanese maker. Yep, the thing would most definitely be covered entirely in safety stickers.
How to state your thoughts and ideas in Japanese
と思う is an excellent expression to know in order to level up your conversation in Japanese. と here acts as a quoting particle for the verb clause that precedes it, and the verb 思う which means “to think.”
- Noun + だ + と思う / と思います
- な-Adjective + だ + と思う / と思います
- Verb (plain form) + と思う / と思います
- い-Adjective + と思う / と思います
Beyond expressing your thoughts and beliefs, と思う is an excellent way to soften your opinion. Japanese culture places great emphasis on harmony and people will generally try to avoid imposing their views on others. By ending their sentences with this verb, they’re being polite toward the listener.
The subject (私は) is commonly omitted, as と思う is understood to refer to the speaker’s own thoughts.
Note that, in all the above examples, the negation is placed within the quoted sentence and the verb 思います is used in the affirmative tense. While it is possible to use 思わない, this is used more often to convey doubt or uncertainty.
Vocabulary
| Japanese | Romaji | English |
| デザイン | dezain | design |
| 良く | yoku | properly, well |
| 分かる | wakaru | to understand |
| もしも | moshimo | if |
| 日本 | nihon | Japan |
| 会社 | kaisha | company |
| たぶん | tabun | probably, likely |
| こう | kou | this way |
| なる |
naru | to become |
| 思う |
omou | to think, consider |
For more on learning Japanese
- Learn Japanese with our original study materials on GaijinPot Study
- Questions about studying Japanese in Japan? Take a look at the Japan 101 section on Higher Education and Studying Japanese
- Join our GaijinPot Study Facebook group to connect with fellow learners
- Learn more about the GaijinPot Study Placement Program
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA - Privacy Policy - Terms of Service