Translation guide
How to express that a thought or idea suddenly comes to mind in Japanese.
Expressing that something suddenly occurs to you, like a realization or idea.
Literally 'floats into one's head'. A natural way to say an idea or thought occurred to you.
いいアイデアが頭に浮かんだ。
A good idea occurred to me.
突然、彼の名前が頭に浮かんだ。
His name suddenly occurred to me.
Means 'to think of' or 'to come up with'. Often used when an idea occurs to you.
いい考えを思いついた。
A good idea occurred to me.
解決策を思いついた。
A solution occurred to me.
Similar to 頭に浮かぶ, but with a slightly more emotional nuance. 'Floats into one's heart/mind'.
ふと、ある考えが心に浮かんだ。
A thought suddenly occurred to me.
Means 'to recall' or 'to remember'. Used when something occurs to you from memory.
彼の言葉を思い出した。
His words occurred to me.
Means 'to realize'. Used when a fact or truth occurs to you.
間違いに気づいた。
It occurred to me that I was wrong.
Expressing that a thought or realization comes to someone, often with a clause.
Pattern: [person] に [thought] が思い浮かぶ. The thought occurs to the person.
彼にいい考えが思い浮かんだ。
A good idea occurred to him.
Pattern: [person] は [thought] と思いつく. The person thinks of something.
The English phrase 'occur to one' does not have a direct single-word equivalent in Japanese. Avoid trying to translate it word-for-word. Instead, use the patterns above that express the idea of a thought coming to mind.
彼は突然解決策を思いついた。
A solution suddenly occurred to him.
Literally 'the thought crosses one's mind'. Implies a fleeting thought.
それは無理だという考えが頭をよぎった。
It occurred to me that it might be impossible.