Making Plans and Invitations Audio

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to understand and respond to simple spoken invitations and plan-making exchanges in Japanese. You'll learn how to suggest an activity, accept or decline politely, and confirm a plan.

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In Japanese, making plans and invitations often uses the -masen ka? (ませんか) form, which means "Won't you...?" or "Shall we...?" This is a polite, friendly way to suggest doing something together. To accept, you can say ii desu ne (いいですね) – "Sounds good!" To decline politely, use chotto... (ちょっと...) – "It's a little..." (implying "not possible").

The key pattern is:

Verb (masu-stem) + masen ka?
Example: 行きます (ikimasu) → 行きませんか (ikimasen ka?) – "Won't you go?"行

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1. The Invitation Pattern: Verb Stem + ませんか

Take the polite form of a verb (ます form), remove the ます, then add ませんか.

2. Accepting an Invitation

Use いいですね (ii desu ne) – "Sounds good!" or "That's nice!"

• いいですね！行きましょう！
  Ii desu ne! Ikimashou!
  "Sounds good! Let's go!"行

  行

• はい、ぜひ。
  Hai, zehi.
  "Yes, by all means."

3. Declining Politely

Use ちょっと... (chotto...) – "It's a little..." (leave the sentence unfinished to be polite).

• すみません、ちょっと…
  Sumimasen, chotto...
  "Sorry, it's a little difficult..."

• 今日はちょっと忙しいです。
  Kyou wa chotto isogashii desu.
  "I'm a little busy today."今日忙

  今日忙

4. Confirming Plans

Use じゃあ (jaa) – "Well then" or "Okay then" to confirm.

• じゃあ、3時に。
  Jaa, san-ji ni.
  "Okay then, at 3 o'clock."時

  時

• じゃあ、また明日。
  Jaa, mata ashita.
  "Okay then, see you tomorrow."明日

  明日

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Example 1: Going to a movie

A: 映画を見ませんか。
Eiga o mimasen ka.
"Won't you watch a movie?"映画見

B: いいですね！何時に？
Ii desu ne! Nan-ji ni?
"Sounds good! What time?"何時

A: 7時はどうですか。
Shichi-ji wa dou desu ka.
"How about 7 o'clock?"時

B: はい、いいですよ。
Hai, ii desu yo.
"Yes, that's fine."

Example 2: Eating together

A: ラーメンを食べませんか。
Raamen o tabemasen ka.
"Won't you eat ramen?"食

B: すみません、ちょっと…
Sumimasen, chotto...
"Sorry, it's a little..."

A: そうですか。また今度。
Sou desu ka. Mata kondo.
"I see. Another time then."今度

Example 3: Going to a park

A: 公園に行きませんか。
Kouen ni ikimasen ka.
"Won't you go to the park?"公園行

B: いいですね！じゃあ、2時に。
Ii desu ne! Jaa, ni-ji ni.
"Sounds good! Okay then, at 2 o'clock."時

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❌ Using ますか instead of ませんか
Example: 行きますか (ikimasu ka) – This sounds more like a direct question ("Do you go?") rather than an invitation.行

✅ Use ませんか for invitations
Example: 行きませんか (ikimasen ka) – "Won't you go?" (friendly suggestion)行

❌ Declining too directly
Example: いいえ、行きません (iie, ikimasen) – "No, I won't go" (sounds harsh)行

✅ Use ちょっと... to soften
Example: すみません、ちょっと… (sumimasen, chotto...) – Polite and indirect

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Mini-Drill 1: Fill in the blank

1. コーヒーを___ませんか。 (飲む – nomu – drink)
   Answer: 飲み (nomi) → 飲みませんか飲

   飲

2. 音楽を___ませんか。 (聞く – kiku – listen)
   Answer: 聞き (kiki) → 聞きませんか音楽聞

   音楽聞

Mini-Drill 2: Respond to these invitations

1. A: 映画を見ませんか。
   B: (Accept) → __________
   Answer: いいですね！ / はい、ぜひ。映画見

   映画見

2. A: 今、食べませんか。
   B: (Politely decline) → __________
   Answer: すみません、ちょっと…今食

   今食

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Summary:

• To invite someone, use verb stem + ませんか
• Accept with いいですね or はい、ぜひ
• Decline politely with ちょっと…
• Confirm plans with じゃあ + time/place

Next Step:
Practice making your own invitations using verbs you know (e.g., 行く, 食べる, 見る, 飲む). Try asking a friend in Japanese: "___ませんか?" Then practice accepting and declining naturally.行食見飲