Page 232 - Easy Japanese - Learn to Speak Japanese Quickly! (TUTTLE)

The sentences on the right above can be changed to the informal style by
switching omoimasu to omou. Note that by expressing your thought in the form
of a question, you can soften its impact and show politeness when you are
disagreeing.
Chotto muzukashi’i ka to I wonder if it might be a bit
omoimasu. difficult.

Fuben ja nai ka to omu I wonder if it isn’t
kedo… inconvenient, and…

GRAMMAR NOTE Onomatopoeia

Dokidoki is an example of Japanese onomatopoeia (オノマトペ), like the sound
your heartbeat makes. Onomatopoeia is abundant in Japanese, as you can see on
the pages of comic books. The list on the next page are the most common.

Many Japanese onomatopoeias consist of four syllables with the first two
syllables repeated twice, like dokidoki, and you find them written in either
hiragana or katakana. Usually shimasu or desu follow them.
Dokidoki shimasu. I’m nervous/thrilled.

Dokidoki deshita. I was nervous/thrilled.

Onomatopoeias

pekopeko ペコペコ hungry
karakara カラカラ thirsty; dry

kutakuta くたくた tired
perapera ペラペラ fluent

hotto-suru ホッとする get relieved
gakkari-suru がっかりする get disappointed

iraira-suru イライラする irritated; frustrated

harahara-suru ハラハラする apprehensive
mukamuka-suru ムカムカする have a surge of anger;
feel sick; queasy

kuyokuyo-suru クヨクヨする worry about a trivial
matter; mope; brood
ukiuki-suru ウキウキする happy and excited; high

spirited