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: A negative question like [飲まない？] often works as a friendly invitation: literally "won't you drink?" but naturally "want to have some?" You can reuse this with other verbs, like [行かない？] for "want to go?"
🇯🇵 In Japan: This sounds casual and warm, good with friends, family, or someone you're already comfortable with. With strangers or in more polite situations, people usually soften it more, like [飲みませんか？].
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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