You use this to ask someone to do something. It is a soft way to invite them. It means 'Won't you...?' or 'Shall we...?'
Verb [stem] + ませんかPrimary
You use this to ask someone to do something. It is a soft way to invite them. It means 'Won't you...?' or 'Shall we...?'
今週末、一緒に映画を見に行きませんか。
Would you like to go see a movie together this weekend?
この件について、後ほど詳しくお話ししませんか。
Regarding this matter, shall we speak in more detail later?
彼女は「少し休みませんか」と提案しました。
She suggested, 'Why don't we take a short break?'.
新しい企画について、皆で一度考えてみませんか。
Why don't we all try thinking about the new project together?
この問題が分からなかったので、先生に聞きに行きませんか。
I didn't understand this problem, so why don't we go ask the teacher?
This form sounds like a question. But it is always an invitation. It is like saying 'How about we...?' You do not use it to ask 'Are you not doing something?' For that, you use a different form.
This is different from "〜ましょう" (Let's...). "〜ましょう" shows what you want to do. It asks others to join you. "〜ませんか" is softer. It asks "Won't you...?" This gives the other person more choice. It is like "〜ましょうか" (Shall we...?). But "〜ませんか" is more of an invitation to someone. "〜ましょうか" asks if "we" should do something.
Use this when you want to invite someone. You can also use it to suggest doing something together. It is a polite way to ask. It lets the other person say no easily.
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