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Sometimes you can combine verbs as such:
飲{の}み込{こ}む
食{た}べ始{はじ}める
乗{の}り換{か}える
など

Using that as a pattern, I said the following in a discussion with a person I just met from Hiroshima. The context was that I was relating how I had worked at the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission research institute (which is located on top of a hill in Hijiyama Park):

比治山公園を登ったり降りたり、よく考え迷いました。

intended meaning:

Frequently when I went up to the research institute in Hijiyama Park, I had conflicted feelings.

Based on the verb combination pattern (mentioned above), I just said " 考え迷う ". Would a native speaker ever say that? Would a native speaker have any idea of my intended meaning (given the context that I mentioned above)?

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  • I have never heard of "考え迷う", but it is at least syntactically correct. However, I have the impression that "考え迷う" does not correspond to "I had conflicted feelings," especially if you mean "mixed feelings" by "conflicted feelings." "考え迷う" for me looks to mean that your thought strolls around and does not reach a conclusion.
    – eltonjohn
    Jul 10, 2015 at 1:09

1 Answer 1

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We do say 「考{かんが}え迷{まよ}う」, so the phrase certainly is nothing new or strange in itself.

The real question, however, is whether or not it fits your particular context. 「考え迷う」 would often represent indecision, passivity and randomness. If that were the kind of thinking that you were involved in, it would be a reasonable word choice.

If you had more "concrete" thoughts, it could possibly be expressed better with another verb phrase that is stronger than 「考え迷う」 such as 「葛藤{かっとう}に苦{くる}しむ」、「葛藤が生{しょう}じる」, etc.

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  • I like this answer! I think this is the second time that I read one of your answers and think "this answer is really good!".
    – ナウシカ
    Jul 10, 2015 at 23:23

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