つもりです

つもり means 'intention'. It will be used with verbs and nouns to express our intentions to do something. つもり can have different meanings depending on the verbal forms and particles used with it. We will see all possible meanings of つもり in this lesson. つもり comes from the verb つもる, meaning 'to accumulate'.

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つもりです/つもりだ

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The most common form is つもりです or つもりだ in the casual form.

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Verb (base; dictionary form) + つもりです

Noun + の + つもりです

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2024ねんに日本にいくつもりです。

2024 nen ni nihon ni iku tsumori desu.

I am planning to go to Japan in 2024.

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がっこうにもどってくるつもりです。

Gakkou ni modotte kuru tsumori desu.

I have the intention of going back to school.

 

In many cases, つもりです is also used to express a future action. We saw that the future tense is expressed with the  ます-form, but つもりです can add a sense of uncertainty to the future action.

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あしたはだいがくにいくつもりだ。

Ashita wa daigaku ni iku tsumori da.

I'll go to the university tomorrow.

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In this case, we can simply translate this sentence as 'I will go' and not 'it is my intention to go'. In this case, it adds a level of uncertainty, I will go to the university, but it isn't 100% sure.

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〜ないつもり

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〜ないつもり is used when we do not intend to do something. This construction will use the verbs in the 〜ない form.

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Verb (〜ない) + つもり

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今日はがっこうにいかないつもりです。

Kyou wa gakkou ni ikanai tsumori desu.

Today, I do not intend to go to school.

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その本をよまないつもりだ。

Sono hon o yomanai tsumori da.

I don't intend to read that book.

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つもりはない

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つもりはない means 'I have no intention of doing at all'. It is a stronger feeling than ないつもり.

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Verb (base) + つもりはない

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はやくおきるつもりはない。

Hayaku okiru tsumori wa nai.

I have no intention on getting up early.

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このみせをうるつもりはありません！

Kono mise o uru tsumori wa arimasen!

I have no intention on selling this shop!

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つもりでした/つもりだった

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つもりでした or つもりだった in the casual form is used to express you had the intention of doing something, but failed to do or it is no longer your intention to do so.

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ほんとうにけっこんつもりでした。

Hontou ni kekkon tsumori deshita.

I was really going to marry you.

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We will see this construction much more with けど.

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ダイエトするつもりだったけど。。。

Daieto suru tsumori datta kedo...

I was going to start a diet...

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〜たつもりです

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If you believe you have achieved your intentions, then the verb will be put in the past to show that you have achieved doing something.

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じゅうぶんべんきょうしたつもりです。

Juubun benkyou shita tsumori desu.

I believe I have studied enough.

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Again, this expression is often used with けど as it will express a sort of uncertainty.

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じゅうぶんべんきょうしたつもりですけど。

Juubun benkyou shita tsumori desu kedo.

I believe I have studied enough...

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If you end up failing the exam, even though you studied enough, you can change です or だ into でした or だった.

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じゅうぶんべんきょうしたつもりでした。

Juubun benkyou shita tsumori deshita.

I thought I've studied enough.

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つもり to express beliefs

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Like the examples above, つもり can be used to express our beliefs on certain things. If you come across some sentences where つもり as in intention sound a bit funny, the meaning is probably somethin like 'I believe', very much like the examples we just saw above.

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きみのきもちはわかっているつもりだ。

Kimi no kimochi wa wakatteiru tsumori da.

I believe I understand how you feel.

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In this context, translating this sentence as 'I have the intention of believing your feelings' sounds weird and wrong. Thus, you know the meaning is 'I believe that...' Literally, it means 'I think I know well'.

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つもりで to express with the intention of

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つもりで will be used to mean 'with the intention of'.

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Verb (base) + つもりで

Noun + の + つもりで

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じゅけんするつもりでべんきょうすると、しゅうちゅうりょくがわいてくる。

Juken suru tsumori de benkyou suru to, shuuchuuryoku ga waitekuru.

If you study with the intention of passing the exam, you will be able to concentrate.

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日本語をべんきょうするつもりで、日本にいきます。

Nihongo o benkyou suru tsumori de, nihon ni ikimasu.

I am going to Japan with the intention of studying Japanese.

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When we use the past tense with this construction, the meaning will change.

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Verb (た-form) + つもりで

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If the verb preceding つもりで is in the past tense, then the meaning becomes 'as if I intended to'.

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日本にいったつもりで、日本語をべんきょうしています。

Nihon ni itta tsumori de, nihongo o benkyou shiteimasu.

I am studying Japanese, as if I intended to go to Japan.

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In this context, the intention does not necessarily exist, but the action is performed as if the intention was really there.

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Overall, つもり will be a stronger term than the use of ようとおもう. ようとおもう is another way of stating our intentions, but it will be weaker, and will be used mostly in sentences where we have the intention of doing something, but we might not go through with it. The construction uses the volition form of verbsよう and とおもう. We will see this form later on.

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つもりらいい

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Yet again, つもり is used only with our own intentions. To talk about the intentions of others, we will use つもりらいい. らいい can be roughly translated to 'I heard that (someone) had the intention of'. We use this expression because we can never be sure of someone else's intentions.

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あいつはかしゅになるつもりらいいです。

Aitsu wa kashu ni naru tsumori raii desu.

(I heard) this guy has the intention of becoming a singer.

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きみこはおかあさんのみせをうるつもりらいいです。

Kimiko wa okaasan no mise o uru tsumori raii desu.

(I heard) Kimiko has the intention of selling her mother's shop.

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つもりはないようです

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This expression is the same as つもりはない, but ようです will be added to say that someone has no intention on doing something.

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このみせをうるつもりはないようです。

Kono mise o uru tsumori wa nai you desu.

(I heard) he has no intention on selling the shop.

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Typically, らいい and ようです mean 'to seem like' as in 'Kimiko seems to have the intention of selling her mother's shop' and 'he doesn't seem to have the intention of selling the shop', but we can also translate these sentences as 'I heard that...'

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つもり as a question

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You have to be careful when asking questions using つもり. I would suggest to only use it with your friends. Asking someone's intentions in English might seem to be insignificant, but in Japanese, it can sound rude.

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どこにいくつもりですか？

Doko ni iku tsumori desu ka?

Where do you have the intention to go?

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Even in keigo form, this sentence might sound like 'hey, where do you think you're going?' 

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To ask questions about the intentions of others, we will prefer to use the ます-form.

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なつやすみに日本へいきますか？

Natsuyasumi ni nihon e ikimasu ka?

Are you going to Japan for the summer vacation?