# Invitations: ましょう and ませんか

https://langs123.com/en/japanese/verbs/invitations/
CEFR A1 · 2026-10-24 · CC BY 4.0, langs123 contributors (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

> **ましょう** proposes doing something together, **ましょうか** offers or suggests it, and **ませんか** invites politely. All three follow the stem of the **ます**-form: 食たべ**ましょう**。食たべ**ましょうか**。食たべ**ませんか**。

## Summary

| Point | Rule | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Form | stem + **ましょう** / **ましょうか** / **ませんか** | 食たべ**ましょう**。 | Let’s eat. |
| **ましょう** | “Let’s…”: a proposal to act together. | いっしょに行いき**ましょう**。 | Let’s go together. |
| **ましょうか** | “Shall we…?” or “Shall I…?”: a suggestion or an offer. | てつだい**ましょうか**。 | Shall I help you? |
| **ませんか** | “Would you like to…?”: a polite invitation. | えいがを見み**ませんか**。 | Would you like to watch a film? |
| Accepting | Say **いいですね**, then repeat the verb. | いっしょに行いきませんか。 — いいですね。行いきましょう。 | Would you like to go together? — Sounds good. Let’s go. |
| Declining | Say **すみません、ちょっとむずかしいです** and give a reason. | あした、行いきませんか。 — すみません、あしたはちょっとむずかしいです。 | Would you like to go tomorrow? — I’m sorry, tomorrow is a little difficult. |
| Trap | The ending follows the stem, never the dictionary form. | 行いき**ましょう**。 | Let’s go. |
| Trap | Offer your own help with **ましょうか**, not **ませんか**. | まどをあけ**ましょうか**。 | Shall I open the window? |

## Overview

- The ending follows the stem, the **ます**-form without **ます**: **飲****の****み**, **食****た****べ**. The verb group makes no difference (Verb Groups). 飲のみ**ましょう**。 / 食たべ**ましょう**。 (Let’s have a drink. / Let’s eat.)
- **いっしょに** (“together”) stands before the verb and makes the invitation clear. いっしょに行いき**ましょう**。 (Let’s go together.)
- The endings carry no tense; a time word says when: **あした** (“tomorrow”), **こんど** (“next time”). あした、いっしょに行いき**ませんか**。 (Would you like to go together tomorrow?)

## Form: three endings

| Form | Meaning | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| stem + **ましょう** | “Let’s…” | 飲のみ**ましょう**。 | Let’s have a drink. |
| stem + **ましょうか** | “Shall we…?” “Shall I…?” | 見み**ましょうか**。 | Shall we take a look? |
| stem + **ませんか** | “Would you like to…?” | 行いき**ませんか**。 | Would you like to go? |

- **ませんか** is the polite negative **ません** plus the question **か** (Questions); asked as an invitation, it is softer than **ますか**. えいがを見み**ませんか**。 (Would you like to watch a film?)
- **ましょうか** with a question word asks for a shared decision. 何なにを食たべ**ましょうか**。 (What shall we eat?)

## Use

| Point | Rule | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Proposal | **ましょう**: the speaker has decided and expects the listener to join. | いっしょにひるごはんを食たべ**ましょう**。 | Let’s have lunch together. |
| Invitation | **ませんか**: asks whether the listener wants to; the polite choice for people you do not know well. | あした、いっしょにえいがを見み**ませんか**。 | Would you like to see a film together tomorrow? |
| Suggestion | **ましょうか** for “we”: suggests an action now and waits for the answer. | そろそろはじめ**ましょうか**。 | Shall we start soon? |
| Offer | **ましょうか** for “I”: offers to do something for the listener. | てつだい**ましょうか**。 | Shall I help you? |

## Answering an invitation

| Point | Rule | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Accepting | Say **いいですね** (“sounds good”) or **ええ** (“yes”), then repeat the verb. | いっしょに行いきませんか。 — いいですね。行いきましょう。 | Would you like to go together? — Sounds good. Let’s go. |
| Declining | Refuse softly: **すみません、ちょっとむずかしいです** and a reason; a bare **いいえ** sounds cold. | あした、行いきませんか。 — すみません、あしたはちょっとむずかしいです。 | Would you like to go tomorrow? — I’m sorry, tomorrow is a little difficult. |
| Offer | Answer an offer with **おねがいします** (“yes, please”) or **だいじょうぶです** (“no need”). | てつだいましょうか。 — おねがいします。 | Shall I help you? — Yes, please. |

## Typical errors

| ✗ | ✓ |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| いっしょに行いくましょう。 | いっしょに行いき**ましょう**。 | the ending follows the stem **行****い****き**, not the dictionary form **行****い****く** |
| いいえ、行いきません。 | すみません、ちょっとむずかしいです。 | a flat refusal sounds cold; apologise with **すみません** and give a soft reason |
| まどをあけませんか。 | まどをあけ**ましょうか**。 | to offer to do it yourself, use **ましょうか**; **ませんか** asks the listener to join in |