はどうですか
- 1Asks for the listener's opinion, impression, or evaluation of a thing.Ex. 1
- 2Softly suggests an idea or activity and invites the listener's reaction.Ex. 2
Verb (dictionary form)The basic form of a verb, as listed in a dictionary (non-past, affirmative).
行く・食べる・する・来る
Narrower than the plain form, which also covers 行かない・行った・行かなかった.
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A polite, everyday conversational pattern for asking opinions or making gentle proposals. It sets out an option and leaves the final decision with the listener. By contrast, ませんか directly invites the listener to do something, either alone or together with the speaker, and ほうがいい gives firm advice. With superiors or customers, いかがですか is the more polite equivalent.
Do not attach は directly to a verb; insert の first, as in 見るのはどうですか, not 見るはどうですか.
Note that どうですか can sound too plain toward superiors or customers, where いかがですか is preferred.
- 1.たらどうN4「たらどう」attaches to the ta-form of a verb and is used only for suggestions, not for asking for an evaluation. It urges the listener to act, more directly than 「のはどうですか」, and can carry a tone of reproach when said strongly; the two are interchangeable when making a suggestion, but the nuance of urging differs.
- 2.といい / たらいいN4「といい / たらいい」gives advice by directly saying 'it's fine to...'; using 「〜といいですよ」to a superior sounds condescending. 「はどうですか」attaches to nouns or 「verb + の」and merely presents an option to ask for opinions, making it more tactful.
- 3.ほうがいいN5They are similar only when making suggestions: 「はどうですか」presents a course of action and asks for opinions in a tactful way, while 「ほうがいい」gives explicit advice in a direct tone and can be rude when used with elders. 「ほうがいい」can also express a preference in a comparison.
- 4.ませんかN5「ませんか」attaches to the masu-form of a verb to invite someone (often to do something together) or to politely ask about a situation, whereas 「はどうですか」focuses on asking for opinions. They are close when proposing a course of action, but 「ませんか」cannot be used to ask for an evaluation of something.
- 5.ましょうかN5「ましょうか」attaches to the verb stem (masu-form minus ます) and is used to offer to do something for the listener or to propose doing it together, while 「はどうですか」attaches to nouns or 「verb dictionary-form + の」to present options and ask for opinions. They are roughly interchangeable when proposing to do something together.
はどうですか presents a thing or idea for the listener to evaluate, while ませんか directly invites the listener to do something, and ましょうか either proposes doing something together or offers an action by the speaker, as in 荷物を持ちましょうか. たらどう, といい / たらいい, and ほうがいい give advice about what the listener should do; ほうがいい is the strongest, and たらどう can sound somewhat pushy.
