Deep in Thought in Japanese 深く考え込んでいる

Japanese often uses compound verbs to express more precise or complex meanings. Today, let's look at this phrase:

深(ふか)く考(かんが)え込(こ)んでいる

This is made of three parts. 

• 深(ふか)く deeply [Adverbial form of 深(ふか)い (deep)]
• 考(かんが)え think (Stem form of 考(かんが)える (to think))
• 込(こ)んでいる to go into; to put into (This auxiliary verb gives the nuance of going deeply into the action)

So, 考(かんが)え込(こ)む is used when someone is not just thinking, but is deeply engrossed or involved in the thinking process.

Before we dig deeper, we have a t-shirt design with this phrase on it. If you are thinking of ways to find Japanese friends or language partners, this makes for a great conversation starter.

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The thoughtful looking girl on the shirt above has the following Japanese text under it. Mouse over the kanji for furigana and use the vocabulary below to try to work through the translation. Then check your answer with ours by clicking the "Translation" toggle below.

私(わたし)は深(ふか)く考(かんが)え込(こ)んでいるように見(み)えるかもしれませんが、実(じつ)はただ眠(ねむ)いだけです。

• 私(わたし) I; me
• は as for [this is the topic marker]
• 深(ふか)く deeply [Adverbial form of 深(ふか)い (deep)]
• 考(かんが)え込(こ)んでいる to be deeply thinking; engrossed in thought [Te-form of 考(かんが)え込(こ)む + いる (present progressive); 考(かんが)え - think (Stem form of 考(かんが)える (to think)) 込(こ)む - to go into; to put into (This auxiliary verb gives the nuance of going deeply into the action) So, 考(かんが)え込(こ)む is used when someone is not just thinking, but is deeply engrossed or involved in the thinking process.]
• ように like; as if [Indicates a semblance or appearance of the preceding action]
• 見(み)える to appear; to seem [Potential form of 見(み)る (to see)]
• かもしれません might be; perhaps; may be [Expresses uncertainty]
• が but; however [Conjunction indicating contrast]
• 実(じつ)は actually; in reality [A phrase that reveals some truth or actual condition]
• ただ just; merely [Used to highlight the simplicity or single nature of something]
• 眠(ねむ)い sleepy; drowsy
• だけ only; just [Indicates limitation]
• です is; are [Polite ending particle]

Wrapping Things Up

Compound verbs like this is very common in Japanese. I hope you can see how adding 込(こ)む (go into; dive into) deepens the meaning. 

If you would like a shirt with this on it, please click here. It's a great conversation starter plus we have free world-wide shipping for all our t-shirts.