Wanting and inviting

Conjugations, Stage 1chunk 6 of 15Verb forms

Wants, suggestions and invitations, from casual to polite.

-taiWant to do.
-ou / -youLet's...; with to omou, I think I'll...
-mashou (ka)Let's...; with ka, shall we...? or shall I...?
-masen kaWon't you...? Would you like to...?

Mix-ups -mashou (assumes yes) vs -masen ka (leaves room to refuse); kaerou (let's go home) vs kaeru.

-tai

want to〜たい

Want to do.

Saying what you want to do, or asking a friend what they want to do.

Make it Take the -masu stem and add tai: tabetai, kaitai, machitai, nomitai. suru → shitai, kuru → kitai. It then bends like an i-adjective: -takunai (don't want to), -takatta (wanted to).

Polite -tai desu

Use it for yourself or to ask the listener; for someone else, say -tagatteru (kodomo ga asobitagatteru).

taberu	tabetai	食べたい
miru	mitai	見たい
kau	kaitai	買いたい
matsu	machitai	待ちたい
kaeru	kaeritai	帰りたい
nomu	nomitai	飲みたい
asobu	asobitai	遊びたい
kaku	kakitai	書きたい
oyogu	oyogitai	泳ぎたい
hanasu	hanashitai	話したい
iku	ikitai	行きたい
suru	shitai	したい
kuru	kitai	来たい

casual

nanka amai mono tabetai na

I kind of want something sweet.

なんか甘いもの食べたいな。

polite

nanika amai mono ga tabetai desu

I'd like something sweet.

何か甘いものが食べたいです。

Heard 38,324× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitles (1.7% of verbs)Main list -tai (Stage 2)

-ou / -you

let's (casual)〜おう・〜よう

Let's...; with to omou, I think I'll...

Casual suggestions to friends (ikou!), and plans: -ou to omotteru (I'm thinking of...).

Make it Ichidan: drop ru, add you (tabeyou, miyou). Godan: change the last u to o and add u (kaou, matou, nomou, ikou). suru → shiyou, kuru → koyou.

Polite -mashou

Hold the long vowel: kaerou (let's go home) vs kaeru (go home).

taberu	tabeyou	食べよう
miru	miyou	見よう
kau	kaou	買おう
matsu	matou	待とう
kaeru	kaerou	帰ろう
nomu	nomou	飲もう
asobu	asobou	遊ぼう
kaku	kakou	書こう
oyogu	oyogou	泳ごう
hanasu	hanasou	話そう
iku	ikou	行こう
suru	shiyou	しよう
kuru	koyou	来よう

casual

mou osoi shi, sorosoro kaerou ka

It's late. Shall we head home?

もう遅いし、そろそろ帰ろうか。

polite

mou osoi node, sorosoro kaerimashou ka

It's getting late. Shall we head home?

もう遅いので、そろそろ帰りましょうか。

Heard 36,685× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitles (1.6% of verbs)Main list -ou / -you (Stage 4)

-mashou (ka)

let's / shall I (polite)〜ましょう（か）

Let's...; with ka, shall we...? or shall I...?

Polite suggestions, and offers of help: mochimashou ka? (shall I carry it?).

Make it Swap -masu for -mashou: tabemashou, ikimashou. suru → shimashou, kuru → kimashou. Add ka to offer or suggest more softly.

To invite someone, -masen ka is softer; -mashou assumes they'll say yes.

taberu	tabemashou	食べましょう
miru	mimashou	見ましょう
kau	kaimashou	買いましょう
matsu	machimashou	待ちましょう
kaeru	kaerimashou	帰りましょう
nomu	nomimashou	飲みましょう
asobu	asobimashou	遊びましょう
kaku	kakimashou	書きましょう
oyogu	oyogimashou	泳ぎましょう
hanasu	hanashimashou	話しましょう
iku	ikimashou	行きましょう
suru	shimashou	しましょう
kuru	kimashou	来ましょう

casual

sono nimotsu, omoi deshou? mochimashou ka

That bag looks heavy. Shall I carry it?

その荷物、重いでしょう？持ちましょうか。

Heard 5,725× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitles (0.25% of verbs)

-masen ka

polite invitation〜ませんか

Won't you...? Would you like to...?

Inviting someone politely while leaving them room to say no.

Make it -masen plus ka: tabemasen ka, ikimasen ka. suru → shimasen ka, kuru → kimasen ka.

Despite the negative, it's an invitation. The casual version is -nai? with a rising tone (ikanai?).

taberu	tabemasen ka	食べませんか
miru	mimasen ka	見ませんか
kau	kaimasen ka	買いませんか
matsu	machimasen ka	待ちませんか
kaeru	kaerimasen ka	帰りませんか
nomu	nomimasen ka	飲みませんか
asobu	asobimasen ka	遊びませんか
kaku	kakimasen ka	書きませんか
oyogu	oyogimasen ka	泳ぎませんか
hanasu	hanashimasen ka	話しませんか
iku	ikimasen ka	行きませんか
suru	shimasen ka	しませんか
kuru	kimasen ka	来ませんか

casual

kondo, issho ni gohan tabemasen ka?

Would you like to get a meal together sometime?

今度、一緒にご飯食べませんか？

Heard not counted: the tokenizer can’t pick this form out