Japanese with Manga

Thought I would see her face with 〜ようと思う

Grammar Explanation: Thinking of doing with 〜ようと思う

Manga panel from くノ一ツバキの胸の内 showing example of Thought I would see her face with 〜ようと思う.
くノ一ツバキの胸の内 » Volume 3 » Page 107

Seeing Rindou asleep, Sazanka reaches for her mask. Rindou wakens and backs away. Tsubaki asks what they’re doing so early in the morning.

サザンカ:
「リンドウのカオを見(み)ようと思(おも)って…」
“I thought I would see Rindou's face...”
Literal: “Thinking I would see Rindou's face...”

Key Points

1見(み)ようと思(おも)って = “I was thinking I’d try to see / get a look at it”
  • Pattern: [verb volitional form] + と思(おも)う “think / intend to do [verb]”.
  • Here 見(み)ようと思(おも)って explains Sazanka’s immediate intention just before Rindou woke up.
  • The volitional 見(み)よう (from 見(み)る) does not mean simple future here; it shows “I was about to / I was thinking I’d…”
2思(おも)って… trails off as an explanation or excuse
  • “思(おも)って…” leaves the sentence unfinished, like “…that was what I was trying to do”.
  • Ending in て makes the line sound softer and more sheepish than a firm, fully closed と思(おも)った.
3Non-past form, past intention
  • Even though the pattern is based on と思(おも)う, the line refers to what Sazanka was thinking a moment earlier.
  • In conversation, 〜ようと思(おも)って is very natural when giving the reason for an action that was just underway.
  • Learners may expect a fully past 〜ようと思(おも)った, but the て form fits better when the explanation connects directly to what happened next.
4カオ in katakana adds a casual, manga-like feel
  • 顔(かお) is written as カオ for stylistic effect rather than a change in meaning.
  • Katakana can make an everyday word feel more blunt, playful, or visually emphasized in dialogue.

See Also

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