'I don't think'

[The7thSamurai]

Do Japanese state that they 'don't think' something as often as we do in English. E.g. I don't think I'd like to go there = あちらへ行きたいと思いません
I don't think I can do it = 出来ると思わない
I don't think it was very good = そんなに良かったと思いません

Would all those pass as normal sounding sentences in Japanese, or are they too 直訳?

 

[Elizabeth]

Do Japanese state that they 'don't think' something as often as we do in English. E.g. I don't think I'd like to go there = あちらへ行きたいと思いません
I don't think I can do it = 出来ると思わない
I don't think it was very good = そんなに良かったと思いません

Would all those pass as normal sounding sentences in Japanese, or are they too 直訳?

I would say そちら（あちら）へ行きたいとは思いません for the first but I don't see why they wouldn't be passable if the situation or reaction being emphasized was an extremely negative one.

Of course XXXないと思います is "don't think" in Japanese. と（は）思いません。 is more like "think that it is not, think that I don't want..."

 

[Supervin]

Do Japanese state that they 'don't think' something as often as we do in English. E.g. I don't think I'd like to go there = あちらへ行きたいと思いません

Quite often I'd say, but in the form of と思う.

So depending on how (un)sure you are for 'I don't think', I would go with （多分）行きたくないと思う.

 

[epigene]

Do Japanese state that they 'don't think' something as often as we do in English. E.g. I don't think I'd like to go there = あちらへ行きたいと思いません
I don't think I can do it = 出来ると思わない
I don't think it was very good = そんなに良かったと思いません
Would all those pass as normal sounding sentences in Japanese, or are they too 直訳?

Traditionally, "think/don't think" （思う・思わない）was not used very often in the Japanese language. However, the language has evolved, and this usage has become frequent today. So, there is no need to worry--basically.

As Supervin mentioned, the use of と思う to state a general opinion (on political issues, for example) is OK.

However, there is slight difference in usage for the examples you gave.

* I don't think I'd like to go there = あちらへ行きたいと思いません
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the English sentence suggests that you are being careful or courteous in stating your preference. On the other hand, the Japanese sentence is a more straightforward statement, saying in effect that "I don't want to go there."
To soften this, you can say:
あちらへ行きたいとは思いません。
(Implicit suggestion: I don't want to go there--but, I might agree to go somewhere else.)
あちらへ行きたいとは思えません。
(I cannot make myself want to go there.)
Personally, I would go for a more cautious approach:
出来れば、あちらへ行きたくありません。
行かなくて済むのでしたら、ありがたいです。

Similarly:
I don't think I can do it = 出来ると思わない
出来るとは思いません。
出来るとは思えません。
Preferred: 私に出来るようには思えません。

I don't think it was very good = そんなに良かったと思いません
そんなに良かったとは思いません。(This statement of opinion is still too direct in my opinion.)
そんなに良かったとは思えません。(This is reserved and less likely to hurt someone's feelings.)
Preferred: そんなに良いようには思えません。

HTH!

 

[The7thSamurai]

epigene, fantastic response. Thank you so much.

 

[Elizabeth]

However, there is slight difference in usage for the examples you gave.
* I don't think I'd like to go there = あちらへ行きたいと思いません
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the English sentence suggests that you are being careful or courteous in stating your preference. On the other hand, the Japanese sentence is a more straightforward statement, saying in effect that "I don't want to go there."
To soften this, you can say:
あちらへ行きたいとは思いません。
(Implicit suggestion: I don't want to go there--but, I might agree to go somewhere else.)
あちらへ行きたいとは思えません。
(I cannot make myself want to go there.)
Personally, I would go for a more cautious approach:
出来れば、あちらへ行きたくありません。
行かなくて済むのでしたら、ありがたいです。

Got the one below thumbing through a dictionary today and it seems to make sense as very 遠まわしの言い方 but my translation would roughly be
"If it's OK, I want to go there as little as possible." which no doubt should be understand as a firm rejection sentence. I basically just wanted to know if it fits with the others as exactly as what Bucko is looking for....

できればなるべく、あちらへは行きたいと思いません。

Similarly:
I don't think I can do it = 出来ると思わない
出来るとは思いません。
出来るとは思えません。
Preferred: 私に出来るようには思えません。

I was also wondering on this whether it would be more modest and self-effacing to emphasize the 私、with には、meaning that I can't do it but perhaps someone else surely can. Although I'm not sure it's an issue of hurting anyone's feelings with a strong approach if the subject is the self.

私にはできないと思います （私にできるとは思えませ ん？、私に出来ないとは思えます？）。
私には無理だと思います。
などでしょうか。。。

 

[Elizabeth]

I don't think it was very good = そんなに良かったと思いません
Would all those pass as normal sounding sentences in Japanese, or are they too 直訳?

Normally I would allow greater politeness in Japanese by taking the final verb only in the past tense. It works well grammatically in sentences such as these to create a certain distance from the strong negativity attached to the originial perception while still assuming the よくない thing hasn't changed and is still as wicked as ever. In English of course "I didn't think that it was very good" is most natural. In Japanese, 良かったとは思いませんでした。 （思えませんでした？）may be fine in some situations but out of nowhere it sounds a bit odd to my ears.

それで、良かったと。。は。、「それほど、よいとは思 いませんでした」がいいと思います。