How to Say ‘Won't you drink? / Do you want to drink?’ in Japanese
飲まない？
noma nai
[noh-mah nai]
💬 Usage Tip: [〜ない？] is a super useful casual invitation pattern. [飲まない？] literally looks negative, but it really means “Want to drink?” or “How about drinking?”
🇯🇵 In Japan: Japanese invitations are often soft rather than pushy. [〜ない？] sounds friendly and gives the other person space to say yes or no comfortably.
Phrase Breakdown
飲ま
noma
[noh-mah]
drink...; won't you drink...?
The verb stem used in the negative invitation form 飲まない？.
少し飲まで休もう。
Let's drink a little and rest.
ない
nai
[nai]
not
Negative ending used to make a verb informal negative.
今日は無理しない。
I won't push myself today.
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