When you would like to invite someone or ask to do something together, how can you invite?
In this article, I teach you how you can ask in Japanese and what the difference between ませんか and ましょう。
・Difference between masenka and mashou.
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ませんか
We use ませんか when we invite someone.
The conjugation is the same as ます form.
If you don’t know what ます form is, please read this article.
Japanese verb conjugation rule with chart
Therefore, u sound changes i and add ませんか
For example, いく(iku)→いき(iki)→いきませんか。
Let’s see this example.
たろうくん wants to date はなちゃん.
In this case, he’s asking her if she can go to an amusement park with him.
Let’s check other places in Japanese.
| にほんご | English |
| どうぶつえん | Zoo |
| すいぞくかん | Aquarium |
If you want to invite someone to the movies, I would say
えいがを みに いきませんか。
If you want to invite someone for dinner, I would say
ごはんを たべに いきませんか。
Now, you can ask to date. haha
If you don’t know what にいく is, please read this article
Japanese grammar -purpose＋ni＋iku-, ～にいく
ない？
If you invite a close friend, you can use ない.
This is the casual form for ませんか.
It looks negative form, but it isn’t negative.
LEARNING NEGATIVE SENTENCES IN JAPANESE
When you raise the end of sentence, you invite your friend.
Let’s see examples.
As you heard that, these meaning is very different depending on the pitch.
Therefore, when you invite your friends with ない form, you should speak so that they understand you’re asking.
ましょう
We use ましょう when you invite a person to do something together.
The conjugation is also the same as ます form.
いく(iku)→いき(iki)→いきましょう。
Let’s have a dinner at that restaurant.
we you talk to your close friends, you would use よう.
This conjugation is a little bit complicated, so I will create another article.
Difference between ませんか and ましょう
We use ませんか to ask how a person is feeling.
On the other hand, we use ましょう when a decision has already been made to do something or when you invite a person to do it.
When you ask someone to date, you would use ませんか because you want to ask her or his will or feeling.
ましょう emphasizes your will.
Therefore, if you use ましょう to ask someone to date, it’s like “there is no choice. you should date me.”
Would you like to have a dinner together today?
If you see someone having heavy bags and tell them that you can help, you might use ましょう.
If you say もちませんか, it sounds like that the person who has heavy bags has to bring another bag.
That’s because ませんか is asking their feeling or will.
It’s like “how about bringing bags more?”
conclusion
| ませんか | ましょう |
| When you invite a person | When you invite a person to do something together |
| To ask how a person is feeling | When a decision has already been made to do something or when you invite a person to do it |
If you have questions, please comment below.
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