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- "いっしょにこうえんに行きませんか？"
"いっしょにこうえんに行きませんか？"
Translation:Do you want to go to the park together?
123 Comments
Two questions: why is the verb in negative and why can't I answer "Are you going to the park with someone?"
〜ませんか is used to extend an invite.
Read more here: http://www.punipunijapan.com/japanese-invitation/
785
Literally translated - shall we not go to the park together? Isshou means together and could mean together with me or together with a group of people. A more natural sounding English translation could be - why don't we go to the park together or even - won't you go to the park (together) with me. The verb in the negative is a totally normal way of inviting someone to do something eg. Won't you eat some more? Won't you come this way? Why don't you come out with us tonight? Meaning respectively please eat some more, please come this way, please come out with us tonight.
This is correct. The best interpretation is probably "Won't we go to the park together?" it is not a formal request for an activity as AnaLydiate would put it.
EDIT: The correct -translation- as opposed to interpretation would be "Won't you go to the park together?"
- 1458
行きましょうか is more like "shall we" rather than "shall we not", and more like a suggestion than an invitation.
As for the English sentence you wrote, AnaLydiate already wrote that very sentence in her post:
A more natural sounding English translation could be - why don't we go to the park together or even - won't you go to the park (together) with me. The verb in the negative is a totally normal way of inviting someone to do something eg. Won't you eat some more? Won't you come this way? Why don't you come out with us tonight? Meaning respectively please eat some more, please come this way, please come out with us tonight.
In English, if you say "won't you go to the park with me?", then you are inviting or imploring the other person to come with you. And it is a pretty formal way of saying it in English, compared to a more usual "do you want to come to the park with me?".
The listener certainly isn't supposed to respond to that English sentence with "that's correct" or "that's not correct". XD
一緒に公園に行きませんか (won't you come to the park with me?) is an invitation.
- 785
Indirect invitations/requests are humbler and hence considered more polite in Japanese. Consider - スカートを つくって もらって いただけませんか
Won't you let me partake of receiving you making a skirt for me?
compared with - スカートを つくりますか
Will you make a skirt (for me)?
The latter is direct, to the point, blunt and therefore considered less humble and less polite than an indirect question/request/invitation.
一緒{いっしょ}に[together with me] 公園{こうえん}[park] に[location marker] 行{い}き[go] ませんか[won't you?]。
- 785
In answer to your second question it could be translated as aren't you going to the park with someone, but in the absence of a specied person or group to go together with it's always assumed that the speaker is asking someone to come with them. If it was an invite to accompany someone other than me (the speaker) or a group, then you'd state as much.
Wonderful explanations. Thank you! ... So many assumptions in Japanese. It's a wonder anyone understands anything at all
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Glad I could help. I find it all very logical - if this then this, if that then that, if something else then it will be stated.
I don't quite understand why you have been downvoted. A more formal invitation is indeed 行きましょうか, which is more or less translated "Shall we go..." when the phrase duolingo has given us is translated "Won't we go to the park together?"
I second this. 一緒に公園に行きませんか？ is best interpreted as "Won't you go to the park with me?"
While i generally agree with you, both of those are incorrect for this phrase.
一緒に公園に行きませんか？ (kanji added, since こうえん is also a lecture, for instance) is interpreted as "Won't you go to the park with me?" since it's a question presented in a negative form.
"Shall we" is ----行きましょうか？ the -Mashouka? ending expresses an invitation explicitly.
"Should we" is expressed less formally than "Shall we", something along the lines of 公園に行こうか？
Shouldn't this be "shall we go to the park together?"? I know it's essentially the same invitation, but translation-wise, wouldn't it be more directly translated than the actual answer Duolingo gives?
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Different ways of saying similar things. Using the negative is more humble and therefore more polite. Depends who you're talking to and why. You know, cos you know if you're asking someone out for instance, you might want to show that you're being super respectful by asking really politely and using - masen ka.
If you want to be humble and polite, you use 行きましょうか? The actual translation is begging the question: "Won't we go to the park together?", which is neither humble, or all that polite despite the polite -masen root form.
- 785
I think why don't we go to the park is closer cos it retains the negative. Or won't you come to park with me?
I dont understand why "wouldn't you like to go to the park together?" is wrong, seeing how theres a negative in the sentence.
It's technically correct. It's just whoever designed the question put what English speakers would normally ask instead of the actual meaning.
It's incorrect because it's translated wrong, though that being said, duolingo deals with rather strict translations, "you" isn't defined and neither is "like", but both are implied. I mean neither in english do you just ask air "Won't we go to the park together?", unless you say "Won't you go to the park with me", which is an entirely different phrase.
行きます is specifically to go or travel to somewhere. A leisurely stroll would be さんぽします. I feel like you might use を or で instead of に too, but I'm not sure. I usually think of に as 'to'.
Neither "you", "like" or "walk" is defined in the sentence. Duolingo is relatively strict in translations.
Would "do you want to come to the park with me" be written any differently? I dont think ive ever said "go to the park with me" in a sentence, always "come to the park with me"
私と一緒に公園に来たいですか？should work, even if it is semantically a bit of an odd construct and doesn't really work honestly.
私と一緒に = [Me with together]
公園に = [To the park]
来たい = [To come]
ですか？= [Question, polite]
The main problem here is the word "To come", since it's a movement action and implies that the speaker is already there, and yet you have included yourself in the sentence with "me" and "us". You could use this sentence when calling over someone to the park, but you would have to drop both "me" and "us":
あなたに公園に来たいですか ?
This is poor English, and somewhat better English is not accepted.
"Do you want to go to the park together WITH ME" would be a fuller sentence, but not accepted by Duo. Dropping "with me" leads to a slightly different meaning. The logical thing to drop is instead "together", thus "Would you like to go to the park with me?". Clearly this may be a less precise wording because いっしょに is an essential part of the Japanese original. Leading back again to that "Do you want to go to the park together with me" seems to be the best, if somewhat formal, translation. But alas, not accepted.
- 785
I agree. "together with me" is not just clumsy though - it is English that no one would ever say. You would use one or the other - you would say either with me or together, but never both.
You clearly aren't a native english speaker. "Do you want to go to the park together" is a perfectly functional and fluid phrase. "...together with me" is, firstly, needless, and secondly clumsy. "Together", when posing a question on the situation already defines "with me", just adding word padding does not make it better or worse.
一緒に specifically means "together", your whole confusion comes from misunderstanding the word and trying to tie it 1:1 with the english construct.
You should not add or remove words. You are not interpreting, you are learning, and that means you'll translate. Certain concepts and idioms may appear "strange" or archaic in translation, but the whole point is to understand what is written, not what the intention was... that comes much later.
- 335
This translates better as "would you like to" it's a polite invitation. "Want" would be "tai" form.
So for some questions "...ませんか" means "would you like to...", for others it means "do you want to...", and literally it means "won't you...?". And woe betide if you can't read the minds of the course creators.
Yes, though english speakers more often "come to the" than "go to the", unless it's an event (events break the rules) go to the movies, come to the prom, go to the dentist, come to the pier... It's a linquistic quirk.
"Do you NOT want to go to the park with me" is not accepted (T^T) although the question is phrase negatively... Why not just ask "いきますか" instead of "ませんか"?
The bigger problem with this translation is that you used the "to want to go" constuction of a verb phrase instead of the more simple and direct "to go"; it's a question of desire of an action as opposed to the action itself. 行きませんか is "don't/won't you (do you not/will you not) go". To instead say "don't you (do you not) want to go", you have to use 行きたいですか.
Incorrect. Asking a negative question (sometimes called begging the question) works exactly the same as in english, with exactly the same connotations and implications.
You would still need to translate the negative term to make a proper translation, however, and Duolingo is wrong in this one.
This may be my english, but shouldnt "should we go to the park together?" carry the same implication and work as an answer?
- 785
Should implies a certain level of obligation. 'Won't you' is indirectly asking the listener something - if you were to ask directly "will you" it would be bolder and up front. The negative verb makes the speaker's question/invitation indirect and therefor humbler and gentler than a more directly worded question.
There is a difference between "Shouldn't" and "Wouldn't", "should/shall" is more formal and has different implications as "Would". ませんか？is most definately in the "Wouldn't?" category.
"Will you go to the park with me?" was marked as wrong.
Can someone explain how this would differ in Japanese?
一緒に公園に行きますか? - Positive question form, your answer.
一緒に公園に行きませんか? - Negative question form.
imasenka is not won't you. use not mean word twice. it is mean right word ex:isn't it? i'm exactly know it. because there are word in korean same meaning
While your english is a bit loose, you are correct. It is a negative (masen) question "Won't" is the correct translation.
I put "Shouldn't we go to the park together?" and was marked wrong. Should I flag it? ... Also, before anybody says it isn't natural in English, imagine two girls walking at night and one is afraid of splitting up. Sounds pretty natural to me... Jus sayin.
"Shouldn't we go to the...?" is too formal for this translation. The question is on the level of "Won't we go to the...?"
Would it not be more appropriate to translate it like this "would you not like to go to the park together"
- 738
いっしょに公園に行きませんか was marked wrong, even though the Kanji for park was taught in this same lesson
I thought when ませんか is used that the translation should be "wouldn't you like to.." or "won't you.." so I am confused by the usage in this example.
Just a broad question, but what's the difference between 「来ます」 and 「行きす」？
Thanks :)
来ます - to come - moving towards a point
行きす - to go - moving away from a point
Ah, so many pick-up lines in Duo... What a shame I'll never get to use them...
how would you write then: "Don't you go to the park together?" in Japanese?
"Why don't we go to the park together?" was not accepted. ~ませんか。would easily have that meaning. When someone asks that, they're not literally seeking reasons not to go, but making the suggestion.
"Why don't we go to the park together?" was not accepted. ~ませんか。would easily have that meaning. When someone asks that, they're not literally seeking reasons not to go, but making the suggestion.
Um??
"Should'nt we go to the park together?" is not accepted?
I understand the "shall" but y tho
- 785
Shouldn't - the apostrophe goes between the n and the t because it is a contraction of should not and so the apostrophe goes where the o would be. To say what you're trying to say you should say - Shall we not go to the park together? However, the original sentence isn't saying shall we not go together but Won't you go (together) with me?
"Shouldn't" is a root of "shall", and ませんか？ is not formal enough of an invitation for that. "Wouldn't you" or "Won't you" would be a good translation.
- 785
Hi - you are using the wrong auxiliary verb - it should be shall and not aren't ie. Shall we not go to the park together? Except people don't speak like this so you'd just say - Why don't we go to the park together? Or in this instance, translating the original sentence you'd say - Won't you come to the park with me? (together is implied, it would sound odd to say "together with me" in English, like you were repeating the same word). Also you should use the 3rd person singular of the verb to be - Is that ok too?
It's not really a that type of a question. "Aren't we?" implies that something was promised and not fulfilled. "Won't we" is a question with an intent of a suggestion.
Too formal. 行きましょうか invites as "shall we" while ませんか？Invites as "Won't we?" There is a distinct difference
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Why is "will you go ..." not accepted? What part of the japanese sentence expresses "do you want"?
Will is implied, not written. 欲求 ( よっきゅう ) is the suru verb for "will, desire, want", but it's not used as it is in english grammar.
Think of it like this: You wouldn't ask a chair to go to the park with you, because it has no will (or a mouth) and therefore can't decide or convey an answer.
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No part of the sentence expresses "do you want" Jean-LoupR. Duo has settled on the translation that they are willing to accept and is not accepting any others. To change this we all need to report Duo's translation as incorrect using the report button and eventually it will change - for instance that ridiculous translation that Duo insists on of "I will call you over the phone" - it seems that enough people have reported this now that Duo finally accepts simply "I will call you". Unfortunately, in some instances they still insist that you translate some sentences "their" way and you pretty much have to or you won't be able to complete the lesson. It stinks.
Not the type of question, "can we/you" is 行ってもいいか？Which asks for consent, not proposal like it does in english. Also "could" is a future tense in "Could we go", and there is no future tense in japanese.
Same reason why "Shan't we jaunt to the park in unison?" isn't there, because nobody speaks like that.
Maybe not America, but other parts of the world do use 'shan't'.
Also, I don't think 'jaunt' is the same as '行きます'.
I was being comical, not trying to be linguistically accurate for your specific situation.
The more serious response I guess is that "Shan't" is a colloquial word mostly used in speech by Australians (I think?). So it's the same reason why "g'day, mate" isn't a valid translation of "Konnichiwa"
- 1458
Shan't seems like a perfectly normal word here in England. Sure, it's not used terribly frequently, but I don't think it even slightly raises any eyebrows either.
At work I probably hear "shan't" used at least once most weeks. Example: "Are you sure I can leave this early? Well I shan't be putting the kettle on now then! You guys are finally going to have to learn how to make your own cups of tea! Laters."
However, I had no idea the word "shan't" might be primarily associated with Australian speech!
Personally I don't believe "shan't" would work for this kind of sentence anyway... ^^
- 1458
Because Duo's sentence is a nice, friendly invitation... Whereas, assuming the word "you" in your sentence is the singular "you" (not the plural "you"), I think what you wrote would only be said as a threat!
Singular you — "would you like to go together to the park?" is said towards a single person, asking if that person wants to go "in one piece" (together) to the park or "not in one piece" (not together)... Rather grim! :P
Plural you — "would you like to go together to the park?" is said towards a group of people (or a single member of that group), asking if the members of that group want to go with eachother to the park. (This excludes the speaker.)
If you want to use the word "together" to mean "you & me", then you'd say something more like "shall we go together to the park?" or "shall we go to the park together?", where we is a plural pronoun.
- Singular = one person goes together...
- Plural = two or more people go together
- 785
testmoogle - It's not incorrect because it sounds like a threat. You are reading too much into it. It doesn't sound threatening the syntax just sounds odd. Together is the wrong word here. I know technically it is there in the Japanese いっしょに but it sounds odd in the English. You would either say simply - would you like to go the park - and since the speaker is the one making the invitation then one can only assume that they are asking the listener to accompany them OR if you wanted to be extra clear about who the speaker is inviting the listener to go to the park with then you could add ...with me? OR it could even be Shall we go to the park together?
Just adding this - the word order is what makes it sound odd - if Gattoledo put together at the end of the sentence it could work and not sound odd. Also I'm guessing that English is not Gattoledo's first language, so a bit of consideration for that is just the decent and polite thing to do. And yes, it is not negative like the original sentence but Duo is not yet accepting the correct translation of the Japanese as the correct answer so oft times we just have to resign ourselves to answering in "Duo's accepted way" so we can complete a lesson.
Wrong. "Are we not" implies that something was promised, and whether or not it is being fulfilled has been brought to question.
"Won't we go to the..." is a suggestion implicating only the asker's desire to go someplace and asking for the recipient of the question's approval.
Its interesting how they are using いしょう as "with me" instead of "together". Also, I think sounds redundant to use that along with 〜ませんか, no?
They are translating it wrong, but you also are a bit off the record. ませんか is a polite form of begging the question, such as "wouldn't you?", it really doesn't do much by itself other than what is implied. Without 一緒「いっしょ」, you're just asking a person whether they're not going to the park.
Also 衣装 (いしょう) is clothing, careful between ishou and issho
No, 2 wrongs (though according to duolingo only one)
- The question is in negative (ませんか？)
- "With me" does not exist in the sentence. If you're wondering, it's
私と一緒に 「わたしといっしょに」 Literally you just write "me with together"
