How to Say ‘I thought (it would)...’ in Japanese
かと思った
ka to omotsu ta
[ka to oh-moht ta]
💬 Usage Tip: [〜かと思った] means 'I thought...' or 'I thought it was going to...'. It is perfect for sudden reactions: [入るかと思った] = 'I thought it was going in.'
🇯🇵 In Japan: This pattern is common in live sports talk because fans often speak in half-sentences from excitement. Short, emotional Japanese sounds very natural here.
Phrase Breakdown
か
ka
[ka]
whether; if
A question particle used here in a pattern meaning 'I thought maybe...' or 'I thought it would...'.
入るかと思ったけど、外れた。
I thought it might go in, but it missed.
と
to
[to]
quoting particle
A particle used to quote thoughts or speech, as in 'thought that...'.
ゴールするかと思った。
I thought it was going to be a goal.
思っ
omotsu
[oh-moht]
thought
The stem of 思う, meaning 'to think'; here it expresses what someone thought in the moment.
みんな入ると思った。
Everyone thought it would go in.
た
ta
[ta]
past tense marker
This ending makes the verb past tense, showing the thought happened already.
入るかと思った。
I thought it would go in.
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