The Japanese volitional form (~しよう、〜しましょう): much more than just “Let’s”

By | February 17, 2015
42 Comments

This time I’d like to focus on the volitional form in Japanese which an important pattern often used in both written and spoken speech.

Many times I have seen this form introduced to beginner students of Japanese as meaning “Let’s …”, and while this is one of the common usages there are several more. I first learned this myself as simply “Let’s”, but when I came to sentences where this didn’t apply I was confused at first. So I’d like to lay out all the main uses of this form to avoid any problems.

In case you’re not too familiar with the english word volitional, I’ll quote one of the definitions for it from Dictionary.com:

Volitional – the act of willing, choosing, or resolving; exercise of willing.

The other definitions also relate in some way or another to the idea of a person’s will. It may be easier to think of this as related to someone’s intention, or a decision someone has made.

I’ll go over the verb conjugation rules briefly for those who are new to this grammatical form:

  • Polite form:
    • ーます　＝＞　ーましょう  [たべます　＝＞　たべましょう]
  • Casual form:
    • Verb ending with a single う:       …う　＝＞ …おう   [かう＝＞かおう]
    • Verb ending with a character that contains a ‘う’ sound (く／す／つ／ぬ／ふ／む／ゆ／る）: replace the う sound with the お version of that same sound , and add う  [あるく＝＞あるこう]    [かつ＝＞かとう]
    • する　＝＞　しよう
    • くる　＝＞　こよう

You can see more examples of conjugation here.

Use 1: When making a suggestion to one or more people which includes oneself (“Let’s” / “Shall we”)

This is the common case I mentioned above that is often taught first because it translates well to English and is easy to use in daily life.

The volitional form can be used either as a direct suggestion, or more as a question. First let’s look at a direct suggestion.

  •  食べましょう。
  • Let’s eat.

You can add a “ね” after this form to impart a sense of friendliness, or a “よ” to give an stronger sense of urgency or emphasis.

  • 食べましょうよ。
  • Let’s eat already.

If you use the same phrasing (without the “ね” or “よ”) you can change your tone to that of a question in order to be less pushy and imply the listener has more of a choice in the matter.

  • 食べましょう？
  • Shall we eat?

You an also add a “か” to the end of this phrase, without a major change in meaning (it’s sounds slightly more formal to me though). Sometimes the う at the end can be shortened to a small tsu (っ） as in “食べよっか”, which has a casual feeling.

Use 2: When making a suggestion to one or more people which doesn’t include oneself.

You can use the volitional form even if the speaker is not included in the action. For example I recently heard the similar line in a drama, said by a bartender to a customer who had just entered the restaurant:

  • 座りましょうか。
  • Why don’t you sit down.

Depending on the situation, you could possibly use the “Let’s” form, because in English this can be used in cases where the speaker is not included (Ex: “Ok, let’s calm down now”)

Use 3: Talking about your intention/will without including others

In this case you are talking about your intention or will to do something that doesn’t involve others. It can either be an informal declaration to others nearby, or you could just be talking to yourself.

  •  今から散歩しよう。
  • (I think) I’ll take a walk now.

The English translation doesn’t really capture the entire connotation of the Japanese text here, but adding “I think” help’s get a bit closer.

It’s important to differentiate this usage from the normal non-past form (する), because that form has more certainty. For example:

  • 今から散歩する。
  • I will take a walk now.

Rather than emphasizing one’s decision or will to do an action, this dryly announces you are going to perform a certain action. It has a certain objective feel to it.

Use 4: Trying to decide between several options. 

In this usage, rather than making a specific suggestion or declaration, you are instead expressing that you’re debating between several options.

This form can be used when you are thinking out loud, as in the following example. The “かな” used at the end signifies something is being actively thought about, and often the な sound is drawn out (written as “な〜”)to emphasize this.

  • どの映画みようかな〜
  • Which movie should I watch…

The “にする”  expression, which means to decide something, is often used together with the volitional form:

  • どの味にしようかな。
  • I wonder which flavor I should pick.  (or “Which flavor should I pick…”)

Use 5: Offering to do a favor for someone

This usage is similar to the first one (making a suggestion to someone), except that you’re offering to help another person or do a favor for them.

  • 手伝いましょうか？
  • Shall I help ?

This example could also be also translated as “Let me help you” or “I’ll help”.

It’s very common to use the 〜てあげる form along with the volitional form for a more direct implication of helping someone.

  • 手伝ってあげましょうか？
  • Shall I help ?

Use 6: Volitional + と思う to express thinking about something

This form is used when you want to talk about the fact you have a certain will or intention, without actually making an offer to someone directly. The 思う verb can be in various different tenses or even in the middle of a sentence.

  • 図書館に行こうと思ってる。
  • I’ve been thinking of going to the library.

Here is an example of someone talking about a past volition (intention).

  • その雑誌を買おうと思ってたんだけど、高いからやめた。
  • I was thinking of buying that magazine, but since it’s expensive I changed my mind.

Use 7: Volitional + と + decision verb

This form is used to express deciding about something either in the future or past.

  • 大会に出ようと決めた。
  • I decided to participate in the competition.

You can replace the verb 決める (to decide) with other similar verbs such as “決心する”.

A related expression is  “Verb (dictionary form) + ことに + decision verb” which has roughly the same meaning.

  • 大会に出ることに決めた。
  • I decided to participate in the competition.

Use 8: Volitional + とする to express trying something

This form is used when you make an effort to do something. In some ways it is similar to the  “〜てみる” form, except it seems to be used more often when something didn’t work out or if you are still trying it. Conversely I haven’t seen it used frequently for the present tense (i.e. “しようとする”).

  • １マイル走ろうとした。
  • I tried to run a mile.

You can use this form when talking about someone else’s attempt at something.

  • 何をしようとしてるの？
  • What are you trying to do?

It may help to think of this form as meaning “Make an effort to do ~”, whereas ”〜てみる” means “Try and see what happens”, with an emphasis on an uncertain outcome.

Use 9: Volitional + が + …

There are several ways to use this form, but here I’ll just talk about the most common one I’ve seen using “自由” (freedom).

  • あなたが何をしようが自由です。
  • You’re free to do whatever you like.

In this case the part of the sentence before the が is treated like a noun phrase that is described by the part after the が。

You can stack two different actions to express freedom to choose either one, as in this example:

  • あなたが辞めろうが続けようが自由です。
  • You’re free to quit or continue as you like.

In both of these cases you’ll see the volitional form is focusing on the subjects ability to choose something.

Use 10: Volitional + が + verb (dictionary form) + まい + が   

This form is used when you want to express “whether you to do X or don’t do X…”.

  • 信じようが信じまいがどうでもいい。
  • I don’t care whether you believe or not.

I have mostly seen this form used in written, formal Japanese.　(信じまい can also be written as 信じるまい)

I won’t give a detailed discussion of the “まい” form in this post, but adding ”まい” to a verb in the dictionary form roughly means the negative of that. For example, “ある + まい” = “ない” .

If you are interested in taking my latest mini-quiz on basic Japanese particles, please try it out here: testmoz.com/449328

Notes

1) The volitional form can also used together with the ~ている form to represent an intention or will to continually do something, as in this example:

  • ボールを見ていようね。
  • Let’s keep watching the ball.

Just as 〜ている is often shortened to 〜てる, ~ていよう is often shortened as 〜てよう。

  • ボールを見てようね。
  • Let’s keep watching the ball.

2) If you want to express a will to not do something, you can use the “negative verb form + で + いよう” pattern.

  • 今日は何もしないでいよう。
  • Let’s not do anything today.

3) I have seen the words だろう and でしょうalso categorized as volitional, and though they may have the same linguistic origin I suggest treating them as completely separate to avoid confusion. I have written a post about these words here.

References

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/volitional

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_verb_conjugation#Volitional_.28Presumptive.2C_Hortative.29

http://selftaughtjapanese.com/2014/02/19/でしょう-だろう-deshoudarou-in-japanese/

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42 thoughts on “The Japanese volitional form (~しよう、〜しましょう): much more than just “Let’s””

  1. Andrew

    …on this site…i’m in heaven…ahhhh
    Might I ask, how do you manage to find the time to study so intensely as it seems you have done? And where do you manage to find the information for things like this? You sound very experienced which is fascinating… I wish I could study all day every day. I hope you keep putting up brilliant posts and great explanations like this. Thank you!

    Reply ↓
    1. locksleyu Post author

      Thanks for the compliments, they are very motivating.

      As to how I have been studying, I’ve written a few posts about that, especially in the first quarter or so of my 200+ posts.

      But in general I would say I only study 2-3 hours a day at max, however I have done it consistently for over 15 years, with only a few breaks longer than a month. In Japanese this is called 地道。

      Read as many of my other posts as you like, but if you have any specific questions feel free to ask anytime.

      Reply ↓
  2. GHAIDA

    Hi, I wanted to ask what if I want to tranzlate this sentence to japanese …
    ゛after that time, Idecided that I don’t want to see him again by any means.＾
    (その時までは、二回決して彼に見たくまい決めた。)

    I think it is wrong to addたいbut i dont know how to express the sentence above lit. ?can you answer me please

    Reply ↓
  3. anonymous

    Greetings from Malaysia! I just want to thank you for the great article. This is definitely an underrated site.

    Reply ↓
    1. locksleyu Post author

      Thanks for the kind words! If you ever need any help with Japanese grammar please let me know.

      Reply ↓
  4. Dan

    I’m not sure if you still reply to these since the last post was half a year ago here. But I had a question

    What happens when you have a volitional verb and か without the な at the end as in 『何を書こうか』と考えています。　

    Reply ↓
    1. locksleyu Post author

      Without the ”な” the meaning is essentially the same, but sounds a little more formal to me than “かな”

      Reply ↓
  5. viharati

    が as in あなたが何をしようが is not a case particle for a noun phrase, it’s a conjunction (“but”).

    Reply ↓
    1. locksleyu Post author

      Thanks for the post. You mean similar to “何をしても”?

      Reply ↓
  6. viharati

    And 信じるまい should be 信じまい. (Sorry for dividing posts)

    Reply ↓
    1. locksleyu Post author

      I checked this with a Japanese person and 信じるまい is correct. However, you are right that 信じまい is more common.

      Reply ↓
    2. locksleyu Post author

      I checked this with a Japanese person and 信じるまい is correct. However, you are right that 信じまい is more common. But I modified the post to reflect this.

      Reply ↓
      1. viharati

        Oops, 信じるまい is correct when you think carefully. I just intuitively wrote it. Sorry.

        Reply ↓
  7. Sana

    Hi.
    Could you help me out with this.
    From all the classifications you provided which one describes this phrase?
    もう一度あの場所で君の隣にいよう。

    It’s a part in a song and, while I get the idea I’m not able to fully comprehend the use of the volitional form in いよう.
    Because of the so many uses the Japanese have given to that form it is a bit tricky to get some of its usages.

    Thanks.

    Reply ↓
    1. locksleyu Post author

      While you may not see the verb いよう too often, it is the volitional form of “to be” for animate objects（居る).

      Rather thank saying “Let’s together…”, because of the “君の隣に” part, I would say this is close to “Use 3”, which means he is describing his intention.

      You can translate this roughly as something like “I’ll stay at your side once more in that special place”.

      Make sense?

      Reply ↓
      1. Sana

        I’m sorry for replying so late.

        It makes sense now.

        By the way, usages number 3 and 6 sound almost identical, are they actually the same in meaning/intention?

        Thanks for your help.

        Reply ↓
        1. locksleyu Post author

          Sorry for the late response!

          #3 is more like you are thinking/talking to yourself (I’ll go for a walk…), whereas #6 is more like you are telling someone else (I am thinking of going for a walk). The pattern in #3 can also mean a suggestion to someone, where as when you use と思う (like #6) it would not be interpreted as a suggestion.

          Reply ↓
  8. Syiqin

    However, can u please explain this one?
    保護しましょうか
    I want to know whats the different btween ましょうか and しましょうか??

    Reply ↓
    1. locksleyu Post author

      しましょうか is just the volitional form of する plus the question particle か, and the sentence you gave can mean “Shall I protect you?”. 〜ましょうか would be added to the pre-masu form (ex: 食べ), whereas しましょうか is a verb on it’s own.

      Reply ↓
  9. Lapin

    Please excuse this comment if it’s been discussed, but I can’t seem to grasp the spelling difference between
    しよう
    しょう
    Can you help explain when I would use the “shiyo” vs “sho” spelling

    Reply ↓
    1. locksleyu Post author

      Each type of verb ending has a different volitional form. する（including verbs like 勉強する）conjugate as しよう。However, the polite 〜ます　ending (like します and たべます) conjugates as ~ましょう (ex: しましょう, たべましょう).

      Does this help?

      Reply ↓
  10. anon

    thanks, i was trying to figure this sentence out:

    彼女は若さを保とうと必死だ。
    She’s desperately trying to retain her youth.

    i guess 保とうと means trying to do (trying to retain), right?

    Reply ↓
    1. locksleyu Post author

      Yes, that indicates her intention. I think the sentence you mentioned is sort of a short or abbreviated form. You might understand it better as 彼女は若さを必死で保とうとしてる.

      Reply ↓
  11. Nick Hoyt

    Wow, I’ve never read such an in depth article on the Japanese volitional form. Great job!

    I, like most people I imagine, learned that it can be used to mean “let’s do this” or even “shall we do this” like you mentioned, but it gets used a lot more than just those situations in dialog, which can lead to some confusion. Thanks!

    Reply ↓
  12. TWarrior

    Hello!

    As far as I know, the fifth form of a verb also means a rude, informal order or command. An imperative. But it’s written only with ‘o’ vowel, wiihout ‘u’.

    So, does it mean, that ‘o + u’ combination is exclusively reserved for the volitional form and conjectures and never used for command?

    Thanks!

    Reply ↓
    1. locksleyu Post author

      I think the rough command form you are talking about is completely unrelated to the volitional form. Examples would be する＝＞しろ、食べる＝＞食べろ, 歩く＝＞歩け。

      Reply ↓
      1. CptGuapo

        Do you have an article talking about that “rude form” (しろ)? We heard a lot of this one at fiction, especially the famous 確りしろ…

        Reply ↓
          1. CptGuapo

            Thanks for the link. It’s clear now that imperative part.

            And as for the 確りしろ, it’s right. It’s しっかりしろ, translated as “Hang in there”, “Cheer up!”, “Keep going” and so on…

    1. locksleyu Post author

      Thanks for the comment. Glad it was helpful!

      Reply ↓
  14. Zakuro

    So, basically, よう is as if you were saying “I intend to do _______, I have the intention of doing ______, I have this in mind that I want to do, etc?

    Reply ↓
    1. locksleyu Post author

      That is true, however it can also be used when suggesting “let’s” do something to another person, so it’s hard to pin down to a single meaning. Also, saying “I intend to ~” is often used in the form “~ようと思う” (ex: 買おうと思う）as opposed to just “~よう”

      Reply ↓
  15. CptGuapo

    Man… what a blog you have! That’s why I love to google some Japanese expressions not easily found around there and almost always we stumble across such hidden gems like your page…

    To me, as a self-taught Japanese (and languages, actually) learner, comes really in handy!

    Thanks. Very useful this article.

    Reply ↓
  16. Davide

    I was stuck at the ‘let’s/shall we…?’ usage and couldn’t explain how a lot of sentences worked. .. thanks you so much for this!!!

    Reply ↓
  17. Roger

    Hi there, great site, thank you! I’m struggling to understand this part of “Use 7”; you refer to ように but you seem to have used ことに instead?

    “A related expression is “Verb (dictionary form) + ように + decision verb” which has roughly the same meaning.

    大会に出ることに決めた。
    I decided to participate in the competition.”

    Reply ↓
    1. locksleyu Post author

      Hello Roger, thanks for reading my site and for the comment!

      You have found a typo, ように should be ことに in the sentence you quoted. I have fixed the article to reflect this.

      Let me know if you have any other questions.

      Reply ↓

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