～ませんか

～ませんか

~masen ka

Meaning:	won't you..., wouldn't you like to...
JLPT Level:	3

Examples

踊りませんか？
odorimasen ka?
dance-not-question
Won't you dance (with me)?

レストランに行きませんか？
resutoran ni ikimasen ka?
restaurant-to-go-not-question
Why don't we go to the restaurant?

Notes: meaning: Let's go out to eat.

日本語の文法を勉強しませんか？
nihongo no bunpou o benkyou shimasen ka?
Japanese-'s-grammar-(direct object)-study-not-question
Why don't we study Japanese grammar?

Notes: Sounds like a good idea.

Comments

This is similar to our English construction: "Won't you..." or "Don't you want to..." which despite the negative, it is actually asking for it to be done.

formed by adding か to the negative form of ～ます