念ねん頭とう

ね

ん

と

う

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

in mind; on one's mind; heed

Used in set phrases like 念頭に置く (keep in mind) or 念頭にない (not on one's mind). Refers to something being actively considered or remembered.

常つねに安あん全ぜんを念ねん頭とうに置おいて行こう動どうしてください。
Please always act with safety in mind.
彼かれのアドバイスは念ねん頭とうに置おいておくよ。
I'll keep his advice in mind.

See all 17 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈事こと〉が念ねん頭とうにないto not have something in mind; to be unaware of something
彼かれの意い見けんはまったく念ねん頭とうになかった。
I hadn't given his opinion any thought at all.
〈事こと〉を念ねん頭とうにして〈動どう詞し〉to do something with a particular thing in mind
将しょう来らいの計けい画かくを念ねん頭とうにして勉べん強きょうしている。
I'm studying with my future plans in mind.
〈事こと〉が念ねん頭とうから離はなれないfor something to not leave one's mind; to keep dwelling on something
あの失しっ敗ぱいが念ねん頭とうから離はなれない。
I can't get that failure out of my mind.

Expressions

念ねん頭とうに置おくbear in mind; keep in mind; give thought to
念ねん頭とうに入いれるbear in mind; keep in mind; give thought to
念ねん頭とうに浮うかぶcome to mind; cross one's mind

Kanji

念wish, sense, idea
頭head, counter for large animals

Related words

考こう慮りょN2
考慮 means to take something into account when making a decision, while 念頭 simply means keeping something in mind or being aware of it.
意い識しきN3
意識 refers to general conscious awareness, whereas 念頭 refers to a specific matter one is actively keeping in mind.
脳のう裏り
念頭 is used for deliberately keeping something in mind (念頭に置く), while 脳裏 describes images or thoughts that spontaneously appear (脳裏に浮かぶ).

Don't confuse with

頭あたまN5
頭 shares the kanji 頭 with 念頭 but simply means the physical head or mind in general, not the specific idiom of 'keeping something in mind'.
年ねん頭とうN1
念頭 (also read ねんとう) means 'in one's mind/thoughts', a completely different meaning from 年頭, which refers to the start of the year.

Etymology

Compound of 念 (thought, concern) and 頭 (head, mind). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the spelling conventionally associates the meaning of 'in one's mind'.