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How to Say ‘Let's eat together next time!’ in Simplified Chinese

下次一起吃饭吧！

xià cì yì qǐ chī fàn ba

[xià tsuh ee-chee chīfàn ba]

💬 Usage Tip: Ending a suggestion with 吧 makes it "let's…". For example, 走吧！ means "Let's go!"

🇨🇳 In China: Inviting someone to a meal is the classic way to show you want to stay friends. It's often a polite closing rather than a firm plan, though it's a good sign they like you.

Phrase Breakdown

下次一起

xià cì yì qǐ

next time, together

下次 (xiàcì) means 'next time'. 一起 (yìqǐ) means 'together'. 一 becomes a falling tone before a third tone.

Example

我们一起去。

Let's go together.

Words in this phrase

下

xià

[xià]

Used before time words to mean the following one.

Example

下个星期见。

See you next week.

次

cì

[tsuh]

time; occurrence

A measure word for occurrences or times something happens.

Example

这次是我第一次来这个公司活动。

This is my first time coming to this company event.

一起

yì qǐ

[ee-chee]

together

Used to say that people do something jointly or at the same time.

Example

希望以后能一起参加项目。

I hope we can work on a project together in the future.

吃饭吧！

chī fàn ba

let's have a meal!

吃饭 (chīfàn) means 'eat a meal'. 吧 (ba) is a light particle for suggestions, like 'let's'.

Example

我们去吃饭吧！

Let's go eat!

Words in this phrase

吃饭

chī fàn

[chīfàn]

to eat a meal

Verb-object phrase meaning to have a meal; also used as a casual greeting.

Example

我们一起去吃饭吧。

Let's go eat together.

吧

[ba]

(suggestion particle)

Sentence-final particle that softens a suggestion, like 'how about' or 'let's'.

Example

我们走吧。

Let's go.

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