Here you are again, the seeker of knowledge on your quest for Japanese mastery. Welcome traveler to another useful Japanese lesson from Bondlingo. Today we are going to be learning all about 2 very useful pieces of grammar. These come in the forms of Verb + ましょう mashou and Verb + ませんか masen ka.
Contents
How to say “Would you like to” and “Let’s do” in Japanese
To learn and master these 2 verb forms will give you some amazing new possibilities to explore with your own communication in both written and spoken forms. Lucky for you we are going to be learning both today and looking at ways you can integrate both of them into daily life.
We will break today’s lesson down in the following ways.
- We will first look at Masen Ka and learn how it is used grammatically
- Next we will do the same with Mashou and learn the grammatical rules.
- We will then look at some examples sentences with both of today’s grammar points to help you really understand the context of the meanings in multiple scenarios
- We then move onto a useful study technique to help you integrate today’s grammar points in daily life and get you speaking and remembering these points thoroughly
- Lastly we will offer a short summary to tie up today’s lesson in a timely fashion.
Right then guys, with that being said let us smash into today’s Online Japanese lesson.
V-ませんか – “Do you want to…” Using Masen Ka effectively
ませんか is used a polite for of invitation to another. When used with a verb it implies the meaning of “would you like to do X verb with me” For example:
食べませんか
Tabemasen ka
Would you like to eat (With me)
To form a sentence of your own with a verb you simply have to turn said verb into the negative ます Masu form and add か Ka. As you most likely already know the か Ka particle indicates a question. Looking at this literally it’s almost like asking “would you not want to eat with me?” It is used often in formal situations. We will look at some more example sentences in the section to come.
Now we are going to look at our next grammar point of the day which is ましょう Mashou。
“V-ましょう – Let’s do!” Using Mashou Ka effectively
Adding Mashou after a verb in Japanese means “let’s do X verb” It is highly common and is used mostly in informal situations. To create this form you simply have to take a verb in its stem form, take away “masu” from a verb, and add ましょう.
For example:
たべます remove the ます
たべ + ましょう
たべましょう
Tabemashou
Let’s eat
Note as well by adding a か to the end of ましょう it has pretty much the same meaning as ませんか however its much more informal, usually used with friends etc.
We are now going to take both Mashou and Masen Ka and look at some example sentences for both.
Let’s look at some example sentences to further our understanding.
ませんか sentences
Thinking of inviting a friend to a restaurant? You could try the following sentence.
レストランに行きませんか
Resutoran ni ikimasen ka
Do you want to go to the restaurant?
Want to invite a friend to play sports with you? This is a good opportunity to try out your newly learnt grammar point.
テニスをしませんか
Tenisu wo shimasen ka
Do you want to play Tennis?
Take note that the corect particles are used before ませんか in accordance to what is needed just like with normal verb sentences.
ましょう sentences
If you are out with friends you may want to use this sentence to get the party started,
ビールを飲みましょう
Bi-ru wo nomimashou
Let’s drink a beer
If you and your buddies are big book worms and love reading then you could go ahead and use the following sentence.
本を読みましょう
Hon wo yomimashou
Lets read a book
Try now to come up with some of your own sentences and see if you can make 3 for each.
An effective yet simple method for mastering today’s grammar points.
So now that you have a fundamental understanding of both grammar points along with knowledge of how they are used in context let’s talk about some things you can do simply each day to ensure you start using the points effectively.
Firsty, each day you must write out to yourself the meaning of both of the grammar points and also write how the grammar is formed. Over 3 – 4 days this will solidify in your mind and you will be able to conjugate them very easily.
Secondly you should also create 4 – 5 example sentences each day, or include them in your Japanese writing or speech across the next week. If you don’t use them often it will become very easy to forget them so make sure you don’t skip out on this.
Once you have mastered this you will thank yourself for putting in that extra effort as they are absolutely fundamental for basic Japanese conversation and communication
A summary of todays lesson on ましょう and ませんか
Now let’s have a quick look at today’s lesson in summary to tie this up
ませんか – Used to invite someone to do a verb politely – formed by taking a masu form verb in negative form and adding か
ましょう – Used to say “Let’s do X Verb” – It is mainly use in informal situations – formed by taking a verb in its stem form (remove masu) and add ましょう – You can also add か to have a similar meaning to ませんか just less formal.
Remember also to follow today’s study method to ensure you master the points.
Well guys we really hope you have enjoyed today’s online Japanese lesson from Bondlingo. If you have any other questions or ideas for future content that you would like us to write about please do get in touch. Have an awesome day and keep studying hard! またね。
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