How to Invite Someone in Japanese with Masen Ka

To ask someone ‘Would you like to do this together?’, replace ます at the end of a polite verb with ませんか. For example, 行きます becomes 一緒に行きませんか, ‘Would you like to go together?’ In this invitation, you are asking whether the person would like to join you. Practise the pattern through a simple autumn outing conversation.

Start with 一緒に行きませんか

一緒に (いっしょに, issho ni) means ‘together’. ませんか (masen ka) gives you a polite way to invite a classmate, colleague or someone you have recently met. After asking, leave space for the other person to answer.

日曜日に、一緒に紅葉を見に行きませんか。
にちようびに、いっしょにこうようをみにいきませんか。
Would you like to go and see the autumn leaves together on Sunday?

Turn a familiar masu form into an invitation

Start with the polite ます form you already know and change its ending to ませんか. You can practise these invitations without learning another verb form first. Read each pair aloud and notice that the part before ます stays the same.

行きます → 行きませんか

一緒に行きませんか。
いっしょにいきませんか。
Would you like to go together?

食べます → 食べませんか

一緒に食べませんか。
いっしょにたべませんか。
Would you like to eat together?

見ます → 見ませんか

一緒に見ませんか。
いっしょにみませんか。
Would you like to watch it together?

Masen ka and mashou have different roles

ませんか asks whether the other person would like to join you. ましょう (mashou) means ‘let’s’ and can propose an activity or follow an agreement. When you do not yet know whether someone is available, ませんか makes room for their choice.

Invite someone to see the autumn leaves

紅葉 (こうよう, kouyou) refers to autumn foliage. 紅葉を見に行く means ‘go to see the autumn leaves’. Adding a time such as 日曜日に (‘on Sunday’) helps the other person decide whether they are available. Foliage timing varies by location, so check your destination’s conditions before going.

日曜日に、一緒に紅葉を見に行きませんか。
にちようびに、いっしょにこうようをみにいきませんか。
Would you like to go and see the autumn leaves together on Sunday?

いいですね。行きましょう。
いいですね。いきましょう。
That sounds nice. Let’s go.

Accept or decline politely

To accept, you can say いいですね。行きましょう, ‘That sounds nice. Let’s go.’ If you are unavailable, start with すみません and briefly explain. In this context, ちょっと…… is a softened refusal. It does not mean that you only need a little time.

すみません、日曜日はちょっと……。
すみません、にちようびはちょっと……。
Sorry, Sunday is a bit difficult…

では、土曜日はどうですか。
では、どようびはどうですか。
How about Saturday, then?

Notice the difference between masen and masen ka

日曜日は行きません says ‘I’m not going on Sunday.’ In the outing context, 日曜日に行きませんか invites someone to go on Sunday. Context matters, as ませんか can also ask a question about a negative situation in other conversations.

Quick practice

Change 飲みます into a polite invitation.
飲みます → （　　　）
You want to ask whether a friend would like to join you. Choose A 一緒に行きませんか or B 一緒に行きましょう.
A ／ B
Fill in the particle to ask ‘Would you like to go and see the autumn leaves?’
紅葉を見（　）行きませんか。
Which reply declines the invitation? A いいですね。行きましょう or B すみません、日曜日はちょっと……
A ／ B

Show answers and explanations

飲みませんか。Replace ます with ませんか. In an invitation context, this means ‘Would you like to have a drink?’
A. ませんか asks whether the person would like to join you. B means ‘Let’s go together.’
に. Use the part of the masu form before ます + に行きます to say ‘go to do something’. The full invitation is 紅葉を見に行きませんか。
B. Here, ちょっと…… gently indicates that Sunday is inconvenient.