思う vs 考える
JLPT N4 vocabulary · what is the difference?
思う is holding an opinion or a feeling — it arrives in your head without effort, and it is the verb in 〜と思います (I think that…). 考える is working something out deliberately: weighing it up, planning, solving. If you could say "I feel" or "in my opinion", use 思う; if you could say "think it over", use 考える.
When to use each
思う
おもう
Use 思う for opinions, impressions, guesses and emotions, almost always in the pattern [plain form] と思う. It takes no effort and no time.
明日は晴れだと思います。
あしたははれだとおもいます。
I think it'll be sunny tomorrow.
国の家族を思うと寂しくなります。
くにのかぞくをおもうとさびしくなります。
When I think of my family back home, I feel lonely.
考える
かんがえる
Use 考える when the thinking takes time and effort: considering options, making a plan, solving a problem, forming a reasoned view. It is the verb for "let me think about it".
よく考えてから決めます。
よくかんがえてからきめます。
I'll decide after thinking it over.
今、旅行の計画を考えています。
いま、りょこうのけいかくをかんがえています。
I'm working out the plan for the trip right now.
Sentences where only one works
この店はおいしいと思います。
このみせはおいしいとおもいます。
I think this restaurant is good.
An impression offered as an opinion — と思う. 考えます here would sound as if you had run an analysis of the restaurant.
一晩考えてから返事します。
ひとばんかんがえてからへんじします。
I'll sleep on it and give you an answer.
Deliberation over time, so 考える. 思う cannot describe a process.
母のことを思って、電話をかけました。
ははのことをおもって、でんわをかけました。
I was thinking of my mother, so I called her.
Warm feeling toward a person is 思う; 考える would make it sound as if you were analysing her.
この問題の答えを考えています。
このもんだいのこたえをかんがえています。
I'm working out the answer to this problem.
An answer has to be worked out, so 考える takes a direct object with を — something 思う rarely does outside phrases like 〜のことを思う.
Common mistakes
明日は雨だと考えます。
明日は雨だと思います。
For an everyday guess, 考えます sounds like a formal conclusion in a report. Ordinary opinions take 思います.
彼は行きたいと思います。
彼は行きたいと思っています。
Plain 〜と思います in the present tense reports the speaker's own thought, so this sentence actually says "I think he wants to go". To state what someone else thinks, use 思っている.
Frequently asked questions
Can I say 考えます for "I think so"?
No — the fixed phrase is そう思います. 考える does not work as agreement with an opinion.
What's the difference between 思っている and 考えている?
思っている is a belief or feeling you are holding onto, as in ずっとそう思っている. 考えている is thinking in progress — you are in the middle of working something out, or are considering doing it, as in 留学を考えている.
How do I say "let me think about it"?
ちょっと考えさせてください, or more casually 少し考えます. Replying with 思います would not make sense, because 思う describes a view you already hold, not the act of working one out.