After-work drinks: Suggesting a drink after work

💬 Asking "won't you go?" with 〜ませんか is the polite way to invite someone. The pattern verb stem + に行く means "go to do something": 食べに行きませんか (tabe ni ikimasen ka) "shall we go eat?"

💬 Japanese puts the landmark first: "station + of + nearby". Swap in other places with the same pattern: 会社の近く (kaisha no chikaku) "near the office".

🇯🇵 An izakaya is a casual pub that serves lots of small shared dishes with drinks. It's the default choice for after-work drinks with coworkers.

💬 Use に to mark where something is, and があります to say it exists there. For example: 駅の前にコンビニがあります "there's a convenience store in front of the station".

💬 Put any suggestion before はどうですか to say "how about...?" The は here is said (wa).

💬 Times take に: 何時に "at what time", 七時に "at seven". 出ます here means leaving the office.

💬 七時 is said (shichi-ji). Some people say (nana-ji) instead, to avoid confusing it with 一時 (ichi-ji).

💬 Ending with ですね repeats back what someone said to confirm it, like "seven, right". It's handy for checking times and places.

💬 大丈夫 (daijōbu) literally means "okay, fine", and it can mean either "yes, that works" or "no thanks, I'm fine." Here it's a yes, but listen for context.

💬 じゃあ is the casual, everyday form of では (dewa), and it's used to wrap things up or move on.

💬 入口 is said (iriguchi), "enter + mouth". Its opposite is 出口 (deguchi) "exit".

💬 Change 〜ます to 〜ましょう to say "let's...": 行きましょう (ikimashō) "let's go", 飲みましょう (nomimashō) "let's drink".

💬 Use に for the time and で for the place where something happens: 七時に "at seven", 入口で "at the entrance".

💬 Adding くれて to a verb shows that someone did something for you, and it's the usual way to thank people for a specific action: 手伝ってくれて (tetsudatte kurete) "for helping me".

🇯🇵 Thanking someone specifically for the invitation is expected, especially if they're senior to you. Many people thank them again the next morning at work.

💬 いいえ usually means "no", but when someone thanks you it works as a modest "not at all".