〜つもりで

Meaning

〜つもりで expresses treating a situation as if it were true or real, even though it isn't actually the case. It's used to describe someone's mindset or approach toward doing something by pretending or assuming a certain condition. The pattern connects to verbs in past tense, i-adjectives, na-adjectives with な, or nouns with の.

Formation

Examples

1. みんな、今日の練習は明日の本番の試合のつもりで気合を入れよう。
   Everyone, let's put our full effort into today's practice by treating it as tomorrow's actual match.

2. もうすぐ40歳を迎えるけど、私はまだまだ若いつもりでいたいんだ。
   I'm about to turn 40, but I still want to think of myself as young.

3. 死んだつもりでやれば、なんだってできる。
   If you approach it as though you're risking your life, you can accomplish anything.

Summary

• つもりで creates a hypothetical mindset or approach, not describing reality
• Used when treating something as-if for the purpose of motivation or effort
• The situation described is not actual fact, but an assumed condition to shape one's attitude