"The boss said next month is the busiest." "I think Taiwan is a great place." To express "someone said something" or "someone thinks something," Japanese uses と言う and と思う.
The Basics: と = Content Marker
と goes after the quoted content, marking "what was said" or "what was thought":
「来月は一年で一番忙しいから、みんな頑張ってください」と言っていました。 → He said, "Next month is the busiest month of the year, so everyone please do your best."
台湾はとてもいいところだと思いました。 → I thought Taiwan was a really great place.
Use Plain Form Before と
The clause before と must be in plain form (casual/dictionary form), not です/ます:
| Correct | Wrong |
|---|---|
| 忙しいと思う | |
| いいところだと思う |
Note the appearance of だ: nouns and な-adjectives need だ before と.
| Word type | Connection | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | as-is + と | 行くと思う |
| い-adjective | as-is + と | 忙しいと思う |
| な-adjective | + だ + と | 好きだと思う |
| Noun | + だ + と | いいところだと思う |
How to Use と言う
Conveying What Someone Said
部長はどんなことを言っていたかな？ → I wonder what the department head was saying?
お医者さんは田中さんに「食べすぎですよ」と言いました。 → The doctor told Tanaka, "You're overeating."
Pattern: Target + に + 「content」+ と言う
The Difference Between と and を with 言う
Both と言う and を言う exist, but they mean different things:
| Usage | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 「...」と言う | Say this specific content | バカと言う → say "idiot" (quoting the exact word) |
| ...を言う | Say this type of thing | バカを言う → say stupid things |
と emphasizes the complete quoted content — this exact statement is what was said. を emphasizes the "saying" action and its object — saying a certain kind of thing.
In everyday conversation, the と usage is far more common.
How to Use と思う
Expressing Thoughts and Judgments
台湾はとても住みやすいと思いました。 → I thought Taiwan was very easy to live in.
田中さんは台湾がとてもいいところだと思っています。 → Tanaka thinks Taiwan is a really great place.
思う vs. 思っている
| Expression | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ~と思う | A thought at this moment |
| ~と思っている | An ongoing belief / sustained opinion |
いいところだと思った。 → I thought it was a great place. (Momentary judgment)
いいところだと思っています。 → I think (and have always thought) it's a great place. (Sustained belief)
Combining と思う with たい
たいと思う and たいと思っている also differ:
| Expression | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ~たい | An impulse right now: "I want to go!" |
| ~たいと思っています | A sustained desire: "I've been wanting to go" |
日本へ遊びに行きたい。 → I want to visit Japan. (Current impulse)
日本へ遊びに行きたいと思っています。 → I've been wanting to visit Japan. (Sustained desire)
田中さんはまた台湾に来たいと思っています。 → Tanaka has been wanting to come to Taiwan again.
Adding と思っている transforms a momentary impulse into a sustained aspiration.
Bonus: ところで
The textbook also introduced ところで (by the way), used for topic changes:
そうか、いいよ。ところで、さっきの会議で部長はどんなことを言っていたかな？ → I see, that's fine. By the way, what was the department head saying in the meeting earlier?
They were talking about taking leave, then ところで signals a shift to the meeting topic. It's like saying "oh, that reminds me" or "by the way" in English.
Summary
- と marks quoted content; use plain form before と
- Nouns/な-adjectives need だ before と
- と言う = say specific content
- と思う = express a thought; と思っている = an ongoing belief
- たい = momentary desire; たいと思っている = sustained desire
- ところで = topic change, "by the way"
Practice Questions
Q1. Translate "the boss said everyone should do their best" into Japanese.
Answer
部長は「みんな頑張ってください」と言いました。 The quoted content goes before と, and you can add に to indicate who was being addressed.
Q2. What's the difference between「日本へ行きたい」and「日本へ行きたいと思っています」?
Answer
- 日本へ行きたい → I want to go to Japan (a desire felt right now)
- 日本へ行きたいと思っています → I've been wanting to go to Japan (a sustained desire that has been on my mind)
Q3. Fill in the blank:「台湾はいいところ＿＿思います」
Answer
Fill in だと. ところ is a noun, and nouns need だ before と: 台湾はいいところだと思います。