つもり

Japanese

Etymology 1

Alternative spellings
積もり (rare) 積り (rare) 心算 (rare)

連(れん)用(よう)形(けい) (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of the verb 積(つ)もる (tsumoru, “to intend”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) つもり [tsùmórí] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [t͡sɨmo̞ɾʲi]

Suffix

つもり • (-tsumori) 

1. (after the 連(れん)体(たい)形(けい) (rentaikei, “attributive form”) of a verb) plan to, intend to, purpose of, plan, intention

   行(い)く積(つ)もりだ。

   Iku tsumori da.

   I intend to go.

   私(わたし)は彼(かれ)に電(でん)話(わ)するつもりだ。

   Watashi wa kare ni denwa suru tsumori da.

   I'm going to call him.

2. (after the perfective form of a verb, the 連(れん)体(たい)形(けい) (rentaikei, “attributive form”) of an い-adjective, or a noun with の (no)) believe that, convicted that, to one's understanding, to one's knowledge, one's impression is, last time one checked, as far as one knows, belief, conviction, impression, understanding

Usage notes

• This word is usually written using hiragana alone (つもり (tsumori)) instead of kanji (積(つ)もり (tsumori)), as it is grammaticalized. Compare みる (miru, “to try to do”) (from 見(み)る (miru, “to see”)), よう (yō, “seem like, be like, as if”) (from 様(よう) (yō, “way, style, appearance”)), and others.
• つもり (tsumori) cannot be used as a nominal – 「つもりは…」 (“The plan is…”) is incorrect. It is rather a suffix, 〜つもり.
  • For a nominal meaning “plan”, 企(き)画(かく) (kikaku) or other such words are used instead.
• 〜つもり has two different meanings depending on what word it follows. When it follows the 連(れん)体(たい)形(けい) (rentaikei, “attributive form”) of a verb, it means "plan to, intend to, purpose of, plan, intention". It has a different meaning when it follows the perfective form of a verb, the 連(れん)体(たい)形(けい) (rentaikei, “attributive form”) of an い-adjective, or a noun followed by の (no), in which case it means "believe that, convicted that, to one's understanding, to one's knowledge, one's impression is, last time one checked, as far as one knows, belief, conviction, impression, understanding".
  • This latter usage is less-taught in textbooks; see Rubin reference for extended discussion. A humorous example use is, if asked 「アメリカの方ですか？」 (“Are you American?”) – and one in fact is – to reply 「アメリカ人のつもりですけど…」 (“Well, I was the last time I looked…”, literally “I believe that I am an American [but I’m not completely sure]”).

Verb

つもり • (tsumori) 

1. 積もり: stem or continuative form of 積もる (tsumoru) [godan]

References

• “Tsumori and the Vanishing Beefsteak”, in Making sense of Japanese: what the textbooks don’t tell you, Jay Rubin, pp. 101–104

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

• (appearing in standard Japanese dictionaries) つぶり (tsuburi), つむり (tsumuri)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [t͡sɨmo̞ɾʲi]

Noun

つもり • (tsumori) 

1. (dialect, Kyūshū, Ibaraki) head

   Synonym: (standard Japanese) あたま (atama)

   • 1930, 雨森芳洲 (Amenomori Hōshū), “疾病”, in 交隣須知 (Kōrin suchi)‎^[3], 小倉文庫 edition, volume 1:

     頭(づ)痛(つう)　ツモリノイタム所(ところ)ニ木(き)枕(まくら)ヲヤメテフセ枕(まくら)ヲナサレマセイ

     zutsū tsumori no itamu tokoro ni kimakura o yamete fuse-makura o nasaremasei

     Headache: Stop using a wooden pillow and use a laid pillow, to the place where hurts in your head, sir.

     頭痛 머리 앏픈 ᄃᆡ 목침을 말고 슈침을 폐ᄋᆞᆸ소 (original Korean)