Practice JLPTHow to tell them apart
つもり states a settled intention or conviction as a fact about your mindset, while ようと思う frames the action as something you are now leaning toward doing. With つもり the decision feels already made; with ようと思う you are still weighing it and presenting the plan as your current thinking. Swapping them can sound odd: saying 会わないつもりだ reads as a firm resolve, whereas 会わないように思う would sound like you are merely musing about it.
- つもり Use つもり when you present your intention or conviction as a decided stance.
- ようと思う Use ようと思う when you are still thinking it over and expressing a tentative plan.
| Grammar point | Meaning | JLPT level |
|---|---|---|
| つもり tsumori | Plan to/Intend to | N4 |
| ようと思う youto u | Am thinking of doing; intend to | N4 |
つもり tsumori
Plan to/Intend to
Intend to ~; be convinced that ~; believe; feel sure that ~; be going to; mean | An intention or conviction of a speaker (or a person with whom the speaker can empathise) about his future or past actions or current state.
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あんな人にはもう会わないつもりです。
I do not intend to see that kind of person.
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この仕事は遊びのつもりです。
This work is intended to be a pastime.
ようと思う youto u
Am thinking of doing; intend to
~ think ~ will | The speaker desires or decides to do something.
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僕はあの人とはもう話すまいと思う。
I think I won't talk to that person any more.
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夏休みに日本アルプスに登ろうと思います。
I think I will climb the Japan Alps during summer vacation.
つもり and ようと思う are both JLPT N4 grammar points that Japanese learners often mix up. This page compares them side by side — meanings, usage and example sentences — so you can tell them apart.