〜ませんか
N5masen ka
won't you ...?; would you like to ...? (polite invitation)
Formation
Verb-stem + ませんか
Chinese meanings
要不要……;一起……好吗
Chinese formation
动词ます形词干+ませんか
Chinese usage
礼貌而委婉地邀请对方做某事。
Chinese notes
比直接用ましょう更留有拒绝的余地。
Examples
- いっしょに昼ご飯を食べませんか。Would you like to have lunch together?一起吃午饭好吗?
- 日曜日にテニスをしませんか。Would you like to play tennis on Sunday?星期天一起打网球好吗?
- 明日、公園を散歩しませんか。How about a walk in the park tomorrow?明天去公园散步好吗?
Notes
Gentler than 〜ましょう because it leaves the listener room to decline. Accept with ええ、〜ましょう.
#invitation
Related N5 grammar
Use this entry in code
import { getGrammarById } from 'kotowa';
getGrammarById('masen-ka');
{
"id": "masen-ka",
"pattern": "〜ませんか",
"romaji": "masen ka",
"level": "N5",
"meaning": "won't you ...?; would you like to ...? (polite invitation)",
"formation": "Verb-stem + ませんか",
"examples": [
{
"ja": "いっしょに昼ご飯を食べませんか。",
"furigana": "いっしょに{昼|ひる}ご{飯|はん}を{食|た}べませんか。",
"en": "Would you like to have lunch together?"
},
{
"ja": "日曜日にテニスをしませんか。",
"furigana": "{日曜日|にちようび}にテニスをしませんか。",
"en": "Would you like to play tennis on Sunday?"
},
{
"ja": "明日、公園を散歩しませんか。",
"furigana": "{明日|あした}、{公園|こうえん}を{散歩|さんぽ}しませんか。",
"en": "How about a walk in the park tomorrow?"
}
],
"tags": [
"invitation"
],
"notes": "Gentler than 〜ましょう because it leaves the listener room to decline. Accept with ええ、〜ましょう.",
"zh": {
"status": "reviewed",
"source_hash": "4a469d8d778e702560b6d9c2c015b7a6a49a32ff864f450f85b49bf752075830",
"meanings": [
"要不要……",
"一起……好吗"
],
"formation": "动词ます形词干+ませんか",
"explanation": "礼貌而委婉地邀请对方做某事。",
"notes": "比直接用ましょう更留有拒绝的余地。",
"examples": [
{
"ja": "いっしょに昼ご飯を食べませんか。",
"zh": "一起吃午饭好吗?"
},
{
"ja": "日曜日にテニスをしませんか。",
"zh": "星期天一起打网球好吗?"
},
{
"ja": "明日、公園を散歩しませんか。",
"zh": "明天去公园散步好吗?"
}
],
"references": [
"sources/grammar/n5.json#masen-ka",
"Original Chinese authored and reviewed by Codex; no independent human review"
],
"reviewer": "Codex",
"review_method": "ai",
"reviewed_at": "2026-10-28",
"review_hash": "a6597d3bc27d42a094e96b2586bd637d162e90a7931047fbf609676ab78ad53a"
}
}