Make plans in Japanese
Learn elementary Japanese to invite someone, suggest a time, accept or politely decline, and agree on a plan. Includes key phrases, a natural dialogue, and practice.
By PookieFriends & plans · Yapr Learn
Inviting someone in Japanese requires choosing the right level of politeness and knowing how to accept or decline gracefully. This lesson teaches you set phrases for suggesting an activity, proposing a time, accepting with enthusiasm, and declining politely while keeping the door open for another time. You will practice a natural conversation between two friends and learn to avoid common mistakes. By the end, you can make and respond to invitations in casual and polite situations.
By the end, you can…
- invite someone to do an activity using 〜ませんか or 〜どう？
- suggest a specific time using 〜はどうですか or 〜は？
- accept an invitation using いいですね or ぜひ.
- politely decline using ちょっと… or 残念ですが and suggest another time.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
一緒に映画を見ませんか。
Would you like to see a movie together?
Issho ni eiga o mimasen ka.
Polite invitation. Use with acquaintances, coworkers, or someone you just met.
土曜日はどうですか。
How about Saturday?
Doyōbi wa dō desu ka.
Suggesting a specific day politely. You can replace 土曜日 with any time expression.
いいですね。行きましょう。
That sounds good. Let's go.
Ii desu ne. Ikimashō.
Positive acceptance. いいですね shows agreement, 行きましょう confirms the plan.
すみません、ちょっと都合が悪いです。
I'm sorry, that's a bit inconvenient.
Sumimasen, chotto tsugō ga warui desu.
Polite decline. ちょっと softens the refusal; 都合が悪い means inconvenient.
じゃあ、日曜日はどう？
Then how about Sunday?
Jā, nichiyōbi wa dō?
Casual suggestion between friends. じゃあ means 'then' or 'in that case'.
ぜひお願いします。
I'd love to, please.
Zehi onegaishimasu.
Enthusiastic acceptance. ぜひ shows strong willingness; お願いします makes it polite.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
To invite someone, use the negative question form 〜ませんか with a verb stem. For example, 食べませんか (tabemasen ka) means 'Won't you eat?' and implies an invitation. For casual situations, use the て-form plus どう？, as in 映画を見てどう？ (eiga o mite dō?) meaning 'How about watching a movie?' To suggest a time, say [time] はどうですか (wa dō desu ka) for polite, or [time] は？ (wa?) for casual. To accept, use いいですね (ii desu ne) or ぜひ (zehi). To decline, use ちょっと… (chotto…) with a trailing off, or 残念ですが (zannen desu ga) meaning 'It's a shame, but...'.
When to use it
Use polite forms (〜ませんか, 〜はどうですか) with people you don't know well, superiors, or in formal settings. Use casual forms (〜ない？, 〜は？) with close friends, family, or peers. When declining, always soften with すみません (sumimasen) or ごめん (gomen) and give a vague reason like ちょっと予定があって (chotto yotei ga atte) meaning 'I have plans.' If you want to suggest another time, add じゃあ、[new time] はどう？ (jā, [new time] wa dō?) or また今度 (mata kondo) meaning 'next time.'
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
ねえ、週末に一緒に映画を見ませんか。
Hey, would you like to see a movie together this weekend?Nē, shūmatsu ni issho ni eiga o mimasen ka.いいですね。いつがいいですか。
That sounds good. When is good for you?Ii desu ne. Itsu ga ii desu ka.土曜日の午後はどうですか。
How about Saturday afternoon?Doyōbi no gogo wa dō desu ka.すみません、土曜日はちょっと都合が悪いです。日曜日はどうですか。
I'm sorry, Saturday is a bit inconvenient. How about Sunday?Sumimasen, doyōbi wa chotto tsugō ga warui desu. Nichiyōbi wa dō desu ka.日曜日もいいですよ。何時にしますか。
Sunday is good too. What time shall we make it?Nichiyōbi mo ii desu yo. Nanji ni shimasu ka.2時にしましょう。駅で会いましょう。
Let's make it 2 o'clock. Let's meet at the station.Niji ni shimashō. Eki de aimashō.A little context goes a long way
In Japanese invitations, indirectness is common. A direct 'no' is often avoided; instead, people say ちょっと… (chotto…) and trail off, or give a vague reason. If you receive such a response, do not press for details. Also, when accepting, it's polite to show enthusiasm with ぜひ or いいですね. In casual settings, friends may use 〜ない？ instead of 〜ませんか, but with strangers or superiors, always use polite forms.
One thing to watch for
Using 〜ませんか for a casual invitation with a close friend, which can sound too formal and distant.
Try this instead: With close friends, use the casual form 〜ない？ or 〜どう？. For example, instead of 映画を見ませんか, say 映画を見ない？ (eiga o minai?) or 映画はどう？ (eiga wa dō?).
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1How do you politely invite a coworker to have lunch together?
Show a sample answer
一緒に昼ご飯を食べませんか。
This uses the polite negative question form 〜ませんか, appropriate for a coworker. You could also say 一緒にランチはどうですか, which is also polite.
2Your friend invites you to a party on Friday, but you have other plans. How do you politely decline and suggest Saturday?
Show a sample answer
すみません、金曜日はちょっと都合が悪いです。土曜日はどうですか。
This declines with すみません and ちょっと都合が悪い, then suggests an alternative. You could also say 残念ですが、金曜日は予定があります。土曜日はどう？ in casual style.
3How do you accept an invitation enthusiastically in polite Japanese?
Show a sample answer
ぜひお願いします。
ぜひ shows strong willingness, and お願いします makes it polite. Alternatively, いいですね、行きましょう is also a good acceptance.
Use 〜ませんか for polite invitations and 〜ない？ for casual ones. Accept with いいですね or ぜひ, and decline softly with ちょっと… or 残念ですが. Always offer an alternative time if you want to keep the plan alive.
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