Omoi meaning can vary depending on the kanji expression, explained

“Omoi” is the Japanese word for ‘thought’, ‘mind’, ‘feelings’, ‘love’, ‘expectation’, ‘heavy’, ‘important’ or ‘serious’. As you can see here, “omoi” meaning can vary widely. It would be very confusing, I think. Fortunately, however, these meanings are strongly related to the kanji expressions of “omoi”. So, as long as we understand its kanji expressions correctly, we can understand what it means. In addition, “omoi” has only three different kanji expressions. So, it’s relatively easy to remember them all. In this blog post, I will explain them one by one. Let’s get started!

Contents

• Omoi meaning ‘heavy’, ‘important’ or ‘serious’
• Example #1: how to use omoi meaning ‘heavy’
• Omoi meaning ‘thought’, ‘mind’ or ‘feelings’
• Example #2: how to use omoi as a noun
• Omoi meaning those above plus ‘love’ or ‘expectation’
• Example #3: how to use omoi meaning ‘feelings’
• And the rest: how to use two omoi together
• Summary

Omoi meaning ‘heavy’, ‘important’ or ‘serious’

First, let me start with the kanji expression, “重い”.

• omoi – 重い (おもい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘heavy’, ‘important’ or ‘serious’ in Japanese. Its meaning can vary depending on context.

This is an adjective. From the grammatical point of view, therefore, it is very different from the others classified into nouns. In addition to the definition, its meanings are also very different from those of the others. In a way, it’s a bit unique.

To understand how to use it, please take a look at the example below.

Example #1: how to use omoi meaning ‘heavy’

Below are new words used in the example sentence.

• kono – この : a demonstrative pronoun meaning ‘this’. Normally, it is used to refer to something close to the speaker. In the example, it is put before the noun, “tsukue”, to describe it.
• tsukue – 机 (つくえ) : a noun meaning ‘desk’. It can also be used as the plural noun. Learn more about Japanese plural.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case maker or topic maker. In the example, it is put after the noun, “tsukue”, to make the subject word in the sentence.

This is a typical usage of “omoi” meaning ‘heavy’. In the example, it is put after the noun via the particle, “wa”. So, the structure of the Japanese sentence is completely the same as that of the English one.

Depending on the situation and context, “omoi” can be used before a noun to describe it. Also in this regard, it’s quite similar to the English adjective, “heavy”.

Omoi meaning ‘thought’, ‘mind’ or ‘feelings’

The next kanji expression is “思い”.

• omoi – 思い (おもい) : a noun meaning ‘thought’, ‘mind’ or ‘feelings’ in Japanese.

This is a noun, so very different from the previous one. On the other hand, it’s quite similar to the one explained next. So, we need to be careful not to get confused with them. Later, I will explain the difference in detail. Here, let me explain the example first.

Example #2: how to use omoi as a noun

Below are new words used in the example sentence.

• anata – あなた : a pronoun meaning ‘you’ in Japanese.
• ni – に : a case particle put after a noun representing the person who is a target of action described by a verb. In the example, it is put after the pronoun, “anata”, representing the person who “I” made feel uncomfortable.
• warui – 悪い (わるい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘bad’, ‘wrong’, ‘evil’ or some such. It is quite often used together with “omoi”. The formed phrase, “warui omoi”, can be translated as “uncomfortable feeling” or just “uncomfortableness”. Learn more about “warui”.
• wo – を : a case particle which is often put after a noun to make the object word. In the example, however, it is used to make the complement word. It’s written as “wo”, but its actual pronunciation is “o”.
• sa – さ : one conjugation of the verb, “suru”, meaning ‘to do’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for a better connection with its following word.
• se – せ : one conjugation of the verb, “seru”, meaning ‘to get’, ‘to make’, ‘to force’ or some such. It is often used to force someone to do something. It has been conjugated for a better connection with its following word.
• ta – た : an auxiliary verb put after a verb or adjective to make its past tense. In the example, it is put after the conjugated verb, “se”, to make its past tense.

This example shows how Japanese native speakers use “omoi” as a noun. Honestly, two sentences in the example are not a perfect match. Yet, the translation reflects well the original nuance of the Japanese sentence.

Omoi meaning those above plus ‘love’ or ‘expectation’

The last kanji expression is “想い”.

• omoi – 想い (おもい) : a noun meaning ‘thought’, ‘mind’, ‘feelings’, ‘love’ or ‘expectation’ in Japanese.

This kanji expression can mean what the previous one can do. In addition, it can also mean ‘love’ or ‘expectation’. Here is the difference between “思い” and “想い”.

While “思い” is used to mean ‘thought’, ‘mind’ or ‘feelings’ in general, “想い” is used to express more dedicated thought or mind like ‘love’. For this reason, Japanese native speakers don’t use this kanji expression unless they have any special intention behind. Below is an example.

Example #3: how to use omoi meaning ‘feelings’

Below are new words used in the example sentence.

• watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
• no – の : a case particle put after a noun to make its possessive case. In the example, it is put after the pronoun, “watashi”, to make its possessive case, “watashi no”, which means ‘my’. Learn more about “watashi no”.
• tsutae – 伝え (つたえ) : one conjugation of the verb, “tsutaeru”, meaning ‘to tell’, ‘to inform’ or ‘to communicate’ in Japanese. It has been conjugated for a better connection with its following word.
• tai – たい : an auxiliary verb which is put after a verb to make its desire form. In the example, it is put after the conjugated verb, “tsutae”, to mean ‘to want to tell’. Perhaps, it’s well known for a part of Japanese tai form.

This is a typical usage of “想い”. Although I translated it as “my feelings”, it can be translated as ‘my love’ or such. When this kanji expression is used instead of the previous one, “思い”, it implies the existence of special emotion. For this reason, this kanji expression is often used in Japanese lyrics.

And the rest: how to use two omoi together

Due to the difference in definition, “重い” can be connected to either “思い” or “想い”. Below is an example.

Below are new words used in the example sentence.

• kare – 彼 (かれ) : a pronoun meaning ‘he’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been changed to the possessive case, ‘his’, with the case particle, “no”.
• omo – 重 (おも) : one conjugation of the i-adjective, “omoi”, meaning ‘serious’.
• sugiru – 過ぎる (すぎる) : a verb put after a verb or adjective to express something more than acceptable. It often works like an auxiliary verb. Its role is quite similar to that of the English word, “too”.

This is a typical combination of “重い” and “想い”. In casual conversation, “重い” is very helpful to express excessive love. Of course, this doesn’t mean that this expression can be used only for love. It can express excessive emotion in general.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained each “omoi” in detail. Let me summarize them as follows.

• omoi – 重い (おもい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘heavy’, ‘important’ or ‘serious’ in Japanese. Its meaning can vary depending on context.
• omoi – 思い (おもい) : a noun meaning ‘thought’, ‘mind’ or ‘feelings’ in Japanese. Usually, Japanese people use this kanji expression to mean ‘thought’, ‘mind’ or ‘feelings’ unless they have any special intention behind.
• omoi – 想い (おもい) : a noun meaning ‘thought’, ‘mind’, ‘feelings’, ‘love’ or ‘expectation’ in Japanese. This kanji expression is often used to mean more dedicated thought or mind like ‘love’. For this reason, it is often used in Japanese lyrics.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.