The Most Useful Questions to Invite Someone for Dinner in Chinese

Chinese people like inviting their friends out for a joyful get-together on the weekend. One of the favorite things that Chinese people like doing after work is inviting their friends out for dinner. Therefore, it would be a good idea to learn how to invite your Chinese friends out for dinner or a certain event in Chinese.

Are you available today?

你今天有时间吗?
Nǐ jīntiān yǒu shíjiān ma?
Are you available today?

Friendship plays a tremendous role in Chinese people’s daily lives. Therefore, they love to invite their friends out for a movie or dinner on the weekend. The most straightforward way to ask your friends out is by asking “你今天有时间吗?” (nǐ jīntiān yǒu shíjiān ma?), which means “Are you available today?”. “今天” (jīntiān) (today) can be replaced by some other words.

EXAMPLE:

明天晚上你有时间吗?
Míngtiān wǎnshàng nǐ yǒu shíjiān ma?
Will you be available tomorrow evening?

Do you have time this week?

你这周有空吗?
Nǐ zhè zhōu yǒu kòng ma?
Do you have time this week?

In the previous example, “有时间” (yǒu shíjiān) means “to have time”. There are several ways to express that you are free in Chinese. When you would like to invite your friends out for dinner, you could also ask “你这周有空吗?” (nǐ zhè zhōu yǒu kòng ma?) in which “周” (zhōu) means “week”, and “空” (kòng) means “free/free time”. Another way to say “week” in Chinese is “星期” (xīngqī). The difference between these two words is that “周” (zhōu) cannot be used with a measure word.

EXAMPLE:

三周
sān zhōu
three weeks

三个星期
sān gè xīngqī
three weeks

Would you like to have dinner together tonight?

晚上一起吃饭吗?
Wǎnshàng yīqǐ chī fàn ma?
Would you like to have dinner together tonight?

It’s sensible to cut to the chase and let your friends know what exactly your proposal is. It’s sometimes a more “effective” way to let them decide if they want to join you. In this question, the literal meaning of “吃饭” (chī fàn) is “to eat”, and “一起” (yīqǐ) means “together”. You can apply the same structure to different scenarios:

明天一起看电影吗?
Míngtiān yīqǐ kàn diànyǐng ma?
Would you like to watch a movie together tomorrow?

星期五一起去商场吗？
Xīngqīwǔ yīqǐ qù shāngchǎng ma?
Shall we go to the shopping mall together on Friday?

Can we do it on Saturday?

星期六可以吗?
Xīngqīliù kěyǐ ma?
Can we do it on Saturday?

If you and your friends are deciding when you are going out for dinner and you have a clear idea of when it will be convenient for you to do so, you can choose to “act preemptively” by suggesting a specific date on which you will be available.

EXAMPLE:

六月二号可以吗?
Liù yuè èr hào kěyǐ ma?
Would June 2nd be OK?

We hope these phrases and questions will be useful and help you next time you want to invite someone for dinner in Chinese. To find out more interesting phrases and questions in Chinese, check out one of our blog posts 5 Small Talk Phrases in Chinese