Meaning & Usage
ことにしている (koto ni shite iru) expresses a personal rule the speaker has consciously set for themselves. The nuance is "I make it a rule to..." or "I always make sure to..." — not a passive description of what you happen to do, but a deliberate commitment you actively maintain.
Break the pattern into pieces and the meaning snaps into focus. こと nominalizes the preceding verb, turning an action into a concept or "thing." にする means "to decide" or "to make something into." The ～ている ending marks the decision as ongoing: made in the past, still in force today. Taken together, ことにしている amounts to "I am in a state of having made it a rule to do [verb]."
Think of English phrases like "I make it a point to exercise every morning" or "I always make sure to call my parents on weekends." ことにしている captures exactly that flavor — self-discipline, intention, and consistency. It's an active personal commitment, not a casual observation about routine.
You'll hear it in conversations about health, study habits, diet, and lifestyle choices. It fits both casual and semi-formal speech. In keigo contexts, the humble ことにしております takes its place.
One key limitation: ことにしている expresses the speaker's own volitional rules. Describing someone else's self-imposed rule requires a reporting clause (と言っていた, etc.). Watch out for ことになっている too — that pattern covers rules from external sources like company policy or social norms. The speaker didn't decide those; the situation simply is that way.
Structure & Formation
The formation is straightforward. Attach ことにしている to the plain (dictionary) form of a verb to express doing something as a rule, or to the ない form to make it a rule not to do something.
| Form | Pattern | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Affirmative habit | Verb (dictionary form) + ことにしている | Make it a rule to do ~ |
| Negative habit | Verb (ない form) + ことにしている | Make it a rule not to do ~ |
| Polite form | Verb + ことにしています | Polite equivalent of the above |
| Humble form | Verb + ことにしております | Humble/keigo equivalent |
Only volitional verbs attach directly — actions the speaker can consciously choose. Involuntary states don't work here. Nouns and adjectives need a verbal phrase before こと.
- Affirmative: 毎朝運動することにしている — I make it a rule to exercise every morning.
- Negative: 夜は甘いものを食べないことにしている — I make it a rule not to eat sweets at night.
- Polite: 毎日ニュースを読むことにしています — I make it a rule to read the news every day.
Example Sentences
Daily Health Habits
毎朝、水を一杯飲むことにしている。
Maiasa, mizu wo ippai nomu koto ni shite iru.
I make it a rule to drink a glass of water every morning.
健康のために、エレベーターを使わないことにしている。
Kenkou no tame ni, erebeetaa wo tsukawanai koto ni shite iru.
For my health, I make it a rule not to use the elevator.
寝る前にスマートフォンを見ないことにしている。
Neru mae ni sumaatofon wo minai koto ni shite iru.
I make it a rule not to look at my smartphone before going to bed.
Study and Self-Improvement
毎日三十分は本を読むことにしている。
Mainichi sanjuppun wa hon wo yomu koto ni shite iru.
I make it a rule to read for at least thirty minutes every day.
新しい単語を覚えたら、すぐに例文を作ることにしている。
Atarashii tango wo oboetara, sugu ni reibun wo tsukuru koto ni shite iru.
When I learn a new word, I make it a rule to immediately make an example sentence.
間違えた問題はノートに書き直すことにしている。
Machigaeta mondai wa nooto ni kakinaosu koto ni shite iru.
I make it a rule to rewrite problems I got wrong in my notebook.
Food and Lifestyle
外食するときは、野菜の多いメニューを選ぶことにしている。
Gaishoku suru toki wa, yasai no ooi menyuu wo erabu koto ni shite iru.
When eating out, I make it a rule to choose menu items with lots of vegetables.
週に一度は家族と夕食を食べることにしている。
Shuu ni ichido wa kazoku to yuushoku wo taberu koto ni shite iru.
I make it a rule to have dinner with my family at least once a week.
Money and Work
毎月給料の一割を貯金することにしている。
Maitsuki kyuuryou no ichiwari wo chokin suru koto ni shite iru.
I make it a rule to save ten percent of my salary every month.
仕事のメールは就業時間内にしか確認しないことにしている。
Shigoto no meeru wa shuugyou jikan nai ni shika kakunin shinai koto ni shite iru.
I make it a rule to check work emails only during working hours.
Social and Personal Values
人の悪口は言わないことにしている。
Hito no waruguchi wa iwanai koto ni shite iru.
I make it a rule not to speak badly about others.
約束の時間には必ず五分前に着くことにしている。
Yakusoku no jikan ni wa kanarazu gofun mae ni tsuku koto ni shite iru.
I make it a rule to always arrive five minutes early for appointments.
困っている人がいたら、積極的に声をかけることにしている。
Komatte iru hito ga itara, sekkyokuteki ni koe wo kakeru koto ni shite iru.
I make it a rule to speak up when I see someone who needs help.
Common Mistakes
Mistake 1: Confusing ことにしている with ことになっている
❌ この会社では残業しないことにしている。(when talking about company policy)
✅ この会社では残業しないことになっている。
ことにしている is for rules you personally decided. When the rule comes from outside — company policy, a social custom, a schedule someone else set — use ことになっている. A simple way to keep them straight: にする = you make the call; になる = the situation becomes that way (through outside forces).
Mistake 2: Using an involuntary verb
❌ 毎朝お腹が空くことにしている。
✅ 毎朝しっかり朝食を食べることにしている。
Getting hungry is involuntary — you can't decide to do it, so it can't become a personal rule. ことにしている only works with actions you can consciously choose. When in doubt, ask: can I decide to do this or not do it? If no, pick a different verb.
Mistake 3: Forgetting the ている (treating it as a one-time decision)
❌ 明日から運動することにしている。
✅ 明日から運動することにした。
Just made a decision? Use ことにした (past tense). ことにしている implies the rule is already established and ongoing. Applying it to a brand-new decision sounds unnatural — like claiming a habit exists before you've formed it.
Mistake 4: Attaching to a noun or adjective directly
❌ 健康ことにしている。
✅ 健康に気をつけることにしている。
Only plain-form verbs precede ことにしている. Nouns and adjectives must be worked into a verbal phrase first. The fix is usually straightforward: find the verb that expresses the intended action.
Mistake 5: Using it to describe others' habits without qualification
❌ 田中さんは毎日走ることにしている。
✅ 田中さんは毎日走ることにしていると言っていた。
This pattern lives inside the speaker's head — it's about internal decisions, not observable behavior. To report someone else's self-imposed rule, add a clause like と言っていた or そうだ to show you're relaying what they told you.
Cultural Notes
Daily rituals and self-discipline carry real cultural weight in Japan. The concept of kaizen (改善 — continuous improvement) isn't just a business buzzword; it runs through how people talk about personal habits too. ことにしている is the natural phrase for that — what people reach for when stating the rules they live by.
Listen for it in conversations about health, diet, study, money, and relationships. It turns up constantly. The phrase carries cultural resonance beyond its grammatical function, which is part of why native speakers respond well when learners use it naturally.
In professional settings, reach for the humble form ことにしております. Job interviews are a classic context: a candidate might say 報告・連絡・相談を欠かさないことにしております to signal commitment to ほうれんそう (horenso) — the communication principle of reporting, informing, and consulting that underlies Japanese workplace culture.
The pattern also turns up in social media posts, personal blogs, and diary writing — anywhere people share routines and personal philosophy.
Related Grammar Points
- ざるを得ない — Have No Choice But (Grammar N3)
- Prohibitive Form: How to Say 'Don't' (Grammar N3)
- わけにはいかない — Cannot Afford To (Grammar N3)
- Potential Form (可能形) — How to Express Ability (Grammar N3)
- Grammar Point: 気味 (gimi) — A Slight Tendency / Feeling A Bit Like (Grammar N3)
- Japanese Passive Voice (Grammar N3)
JLPT Tips
The JLPT N3 tests this pattern in a few distinct ways. Most commonly, a situation is described and you choose the right grammar form — which means knowing the contrast between ことにしている (personal ongoing rule), ことにした (one-time past decision), and ことになっている (external rule or arrangement). These three look similar on the page but carry different meanings, so they're frequently tested together.
Read the context clues carefully. First-person lifestyle descriptions point to ことにしている. Mentions of a company, school rule, or pre-arranged schedule point to ことになっている.
Listening sections use ことにしています frequently in interview-style conversations. Train your ear on the gap between ～ている (ongoing habit) and ～た (completed one-time action) — the difference is often the whole point of the question.
For grammar-fill questions, remember that ことにしている requires a volitional verb in plain form. Practice sorting verbs into volitional (食べる, 読む, 起きる) versus non-volitional (疲れる, 分かる, 聞こえる). Attaching this pattern to an involuntary verb is one of the most common errors on this section.
A quick mental test: can the sentence be rephrased as "It is my personal rule to..."? Then ことにしている fits. If the rule comes from outside yourself, ことになっている is the right call.