How do I express my opinion or preference in Japanese
To express your opinion or preference in Japanese, the most common and straightforward way is to use the verb と思う (to omou) or its polite form 思います (omoimasu), which means “I think.” You place と思う／と思います after the statement expressing your opinion.
Here are some examples of how to use it:
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For い-adjectives or verbs:
この曲、めっちゃかっこいいと思うよ。
(Kono kyoku, meccha kakkoii to omou yo.)
”I think this song is really cool.” -
For な-adjectives and nouns, add だ before と思う:
大切だと思うよ。
(Taisetsu da to omou yo.)
”I think it’s important.”彼はいい人だと思います。
(Kare wa ii hito da to omoimasu.)
”I think he is a great guy.”
This construction is used for expressing personal opinions or things you assume to be true, and the tone can be casual (思う) or polite (思います) depending on the context.
Besides と思う/と思います, there are other ways to express subjective opinions or assumptions in Japanese, such as using だろう (darou) or でしょう (deshou), which convey speculation or probability in a somewhat softer or less direct way. For example:
明日はいい日になるだろう。
(Ashita wa ii hi ni naru darou.)
”Tomorrow will probably be a good day.”
To ask others’ opinions, you can say:
このことについてどう思いますか？
(Kono koto ni tsuite dou omoimasu ka?)
”What do you think about this?”
In summary, using と思う／と思います after the opinion phrase is the most natural and common way to express your opinion or preference in Japanese.