DIY Japanese - Japanese Grammar Plug and Play

In Japanese, it is easy to construct sentences that convey equivalent expressions of your intentions. To say that you intend on verb'ing, or intend to verb in Japanese, use the following construction:

Verb (Base III) TSUMORI DESU. For the negative construction, use
intend ~not to verb use:
Verb (Base I) NAI TSUMORI DESU. put a verb into either Base III or Base I (i.e. IKU or IKANAI) then add TSUMORI DESU. As long as the locutor has a handle on the pronunciation of the TSU syllable (see pronunciation tips #13), then his/her spoken intentions will also be easily understood.

We can understand more about the bunpo of intentions (today’s grammar principle) by taking a closer look at the meaning of the word tsumori and/or its etymology. Of course don’t neglect to listen to your surroundings especially when you are blessed with an immersive environment. If you are not already in Japan, try listening for words you have learned via Japanese T.V. or from any other means to feel the way in which those words are used by native Japanese speakers. Paying attention to how it is used in the real world.  Tsumoru is the verb to accumulate or to be piled or stacked up. Also note that tsumeru means to stuff, pack, or cram, and although the kanji is not exactly the same, they both seem to have stemmed from a common source. Tsumori is also related to the widely used common term tsumaranai which is the word for something that is worthless or trivial or something that is not worth your time worrying about.

You must add the polite form of the verb to be (de aru) after tsumori to show politeness as well as to show whether the intention was a past or present, negative or positive intention. A few examples will show you how to use this bunpo principle.

Practice Tip – Take all the Japanese verbs you know and put them into the tsumori bunpo. Have fun with words like fart, choke, drown, dumpster dive etc. Remember Ghetto Grammar is not only useful, its fun. Just be careful not to get too ghetto and always use the polite form for verbs. Steer clear of anything plain form or lower.

          - Watakushi wa katsu tsumori desu.

ex.2   - He intends to speak with her.

          - Kare wa kanojo to hanasu tsumori desu.

ex.3   - I don't intend to go.

- Ikanai tsumori desu. (Rarely used)

ex.3a - I have no intentions to go.

          - Iku tsumori wa nai desu. (More frequently)

          - Iku tsumori wa arimasen. (More polite)

ex.4 - It was my intention to do the dishes.

  - Sara o arau tsumori deshita.

ex.4a - I had intended to go

          - Iku tsumori deshita.

Most often literal translations of Japanese to English rarely come out in a comprehensible fashion. Usually they are so far from what we really are saying that they are anything but true or correct interpretations. In studying a language it is sometime good, however, to learn about word etymology if possible. Try listening for other uses of the same term. By getting use to hearing a certain phrase more than one way, you are setting the stage for solid language acquisition. In our tsumori bunpo we would want to know how meanings would affect our usage. Since tsumoru means to accumulate, to be piled or to be stacked up, when we literally translate example 1 above it becomes something like this - I have accumulated much the act of winning, Or, -I have a lot of winning  put aside, the winning is%2