
When you imagine 考える, picture cogs spinning and gears turning in your brain.īut wait… 思う sounds a whole lot like "feel," doesn't it? It's true, and 思う does share some similarities with 感じる, the Japanese word for "feel." While 感じる is not the focus of this article, it's good to keep in mind that it is more similar to 思う than it is to 考える. 考える, on the other hand, is all about using your head to reach a conclusion. Picture it like this - 思う comes from your heart, rather than your head. 思う is something spontaneous, like thoughts that just bubble up naturally. 考える, on the other hand, is all about using your head to reach a conclusion.īefore we get into different kinds of thinking, let's look at the most basic difference between 思う and 考える. If you haven't already, subscribe to the Tofugu podcast and save episodes for later! Thinking with Your Heart or Your Head The podcast has quizzes included for you to review the content, so make sure to listen to it after reading this article. Beginners who know of the two words 思う and 考える can enjoy reading this article, but to get the most out of it, knowledge about the particle を for marking objects and と for quoting would be nice to have.īefore moving forward: heads up that we recorded a podcast episode about 思う and 考える. If you need to brush up, have a look at our Ultimate Hiragana Guide and Ultimate Katakana Guide. Prerequisites: This article assumes you already know hiragana and katakana.

Since both 思う and 考える translate to "think," it's obvious that there's a fine line between the two words. On the other hand, there are also times they are not interchangeable, and they carry distinctly different nuances, which the go-to translation "think" doesn't capture. There are times they can be used interchangeably, and even native speakers sometimes have a hard time explaining why and how a choice between the two is made.

Other words for adding to that how to#
Although they are both fairly common words, textbooks usually don't adequately address the difference between these two, leaving learners wondering how to use them. There are two Japanese verbs that are often translated as "think" in English: 思う and 考える.
