modality N5 essential polite teineigo (polite)

〜ましょうか — shall I ~? / shall we ~?

〜ましょうか・ましょうか

Meaning

shall I ~? — offering to do something for someone
shall we ~? — proposing a joint action and checking the other person agrees

With your own action it's an offer of help (持もちましょうか 'shall I carry it?'); with a shared action it's a proposal that invites agreement (行いきましょうか 'shall we go?'). Either way it softens ましょう into a question.

Key sentence

窓まどを開あけましょうか。

Shall I open the window?

Formation

Attaches to	Form	Example
Verb (ます-stem)	V-ます → V-ましょうか	持もちます → 持もちましょうか

Examples

荷物にもつを持もちましょうか。

Shall I carry your bag?

そろそろ出でかけましょうか。

Shall we head out soon?

今夜こんやは何なにを作つくりましょうか。

What shall I make tonight?

Easily confused with

ましょうましょう states 'let's ~' as a decision; ましょうか turns it into a question — offering or checking rather than asserting. 〜ませんかませんか extends an open invitation to the listener ('won't you ~?'); ましょうか offers your help or proposes, expecting a yes/no.

See 〜ましょうか in real sentences

Jengo shows 〜ましょうか the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.

Study it in Jengo

Sources Compiled from published Japanese grammar references.

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