In the phrase: "Konya issho ni eiga o mimasen ka?", I am told the intrepretation is :
"Shall we see a movie together tonight?"
Isnt mimasen negative? I read that as "You do not want to see a movie together tonight?"
Shouldnt it read 'mimasu' for present positive?
Thanks in advance!
2007-01-25 18:34:21 · 4 answers · asked by erok2020 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
'masen' is negative....
but in this context...it is just the japanese way of saying the phrase.
What i mean is....like the phrase 'itadakimasu' or 'otsukaresama'....if direct translated, literally it means 'i receive' and 'tired' (or something like that) but the actual meaning is different. Not everything will have the same meaning if we translate it directly word to word.
The 'masen' here is used as a polite way of saying or asking something. It is just how the Japanese say it.
"Konya isshoni eiga o mimasen ka?"
Why DONT we watch a movie tonite? equals to "Shall we see a movie together tonight?"
as u can see....i used DONT in the translation.
other examples...'tabe ni ikanai?' or 'tabe ni ikimasen ka?'
means 'Dont u wanna go eat' if translated word to word, but it is better in English if we translate it as 'Wanna go catch a bite?' or 'Lets go grab something to eat?'....
U dont have to translate everything word by word.
Basically, it is just a polite, it is just the Japanese style of saying it.
2007-01-25 22:05:55 · answer #1 · answered by razlan_kobe 2 · 3⤊ 1⤋
the question is asked in a formal way,..thats why he used "mimasen ka?" rather than the usual or casual way.."mimasu ka"?mimasen isnt negative at all..its a formal form of speech the person used.
2007-01-26 03:57:52 · answer #2 · answered by spike 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Actually, the better translation would be "Won't we see a movie together tonight?"
Yes, mimasen is negative, but in the way that I translated it above.
2007-01-26 02:43:22 · answer #3 · answered by Alvin E 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Although the sentense itself holds the negative part of speech, "masen" as "not", it creates a very positive effect.
It is a very nice way to ask somebody to go out with. :)
Also note that the subject is not "you" but should be we. I know it's very confusing. So it is more like in a sense
"Why don't we go to see a movie tonight?"
2007-01-26 02:52:31 · answer #4 · answered by gs_at_ya 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋