Do both 思い and 想い mean "feeling", and if they do are they used
interchangeably? If not, what is their difference in meaning?
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2014-08-24T05:01:42.747
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meaning
想い vs. 思い - Do Both Mean Feeling?
> "Do both [思]{おも}い and [想]{おも}い mean "feeling"?"

Yes, both mean "thought", "feeling", etc.

> Can I just use either one in my writing?

No, not really. Only 「思う」 is officially correct according to our Education
Ministry. That means that in school, you can only use 「思い」. You WILL be
corrected if you use 「想い」 in school. You will not see 「想い」 in newspapers,
either.

If you look up 「おもい」 in a monolingual dictionary, you will find that the kanji
「想い」 is "marked" for being "not official" like in this dictionary, which uses
a triangle for that purpose.

[http://kotobank.jp/word/%E6%80%9D%E3%81%84?dic=daijisen&oid=02560200](http://kotobank.jp/word/%E6%80%9D%E3%81%84?dic=daijisen&oid=02560200)

Our writing system is rather complex to begin with as you know. So, the
government tries to keep it simple even by a little -- at least in schools.

> Does that mean 「思い」 and 「想い」 are not interchangeable?

Personally, I would say that they are not. I would feel pretty weird if I used
「思い」 if I were writing a letter to someone I liked. If our language gives you
the aesthetic choices that other languages do not, I say 'Keep'em!'

> Can I use 「想い」 in my private life after school?

Yes, of course, you can. Many people use it in letters, emails, poems, etc.

> Cool. Is there a difference in meaning or nuance between the two words?

In meaning, not really, but in nuance, I would have to say yes, which is why
you see both used often. 「想い」 looks and feels more personal and/or emotional
than 「思い」.

If you saw litter on the street and felt something, that would be a 「思い」. If
you are thinking of someone special and missing her, that would be a 「想い」 for
many of us if described in writing.
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2014-08-24T11:25:28.470
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answer
Firstly, the biggest difference is that the kun'yomi reading of 「おも（う）」 in the
jouyou kanji list is only assigned to to 思う. In official documents, textbooks,
newspaper articles, etc 想う isn't used. Though some businesses will, depending
on the business.

思う is used for general situation "to think", such as 思考、思案、思索、思慮、意思, etc. 想う
has a more personalised feeling (personal mental states, etc):
想起、回想、追想、予想、夢想、空想、発想, etc. This meaning can also be extended to thinking about
"something" - your thoughts are targeting something. It also has to do with
words dealing with music, arts, etc: 楽想、構想、詩想.

In general, 思う is the general use (including 思う・思い）, and 想う is for personal
effecting mental states and object d'art things.

So to answer directly, they both have the meaning of "feeling" but they have
subtles to them and the use of one when the other is apporpiate might be odd
to read. 思い is the origin of the action, and 想い is the way of thinking about
an action.

Examples:

> 競馬をしようかと思案することが思い
>
> 映画を観ようと思考するのが思い
>
> 映画の感想を言うこと想いになる
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2014-08-24T12:04:13.693
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