The V+ないの is sort of like "Won't you blah blah blah?", yeah?

I asked her out to drink a long time ago but she had moved to live somewhere else.. Maybe she's back around?  Anyway, it seems weird because I asked her to drink before, so her just asking me if I ever go drinking and stuff would be odd.   Maybe she's just making shallow conversation again because she wants to keep mailing me.

Thanks kainzero, for giving your take on it.

I don't know how to respond to this mail :p


Do you live in Japan too?

How about you just mirror your response to her question.
Just something like クラブとか行くよ。or whatever.

To do it in such a way that you're as vague as she is, and you can judge from her response what she meant. Maybe bring up some other topics instead.

Just an idea.

is that the full message? just wondering if there was anything missed out...

if not, i'd take it as:

My workfriend said she saw ****'s photograph.
Seems like it was taken in 尾張旭. Do you go drinking there or something?
(is 尾張旭 where the photograph was taken?)

EDIT: hmm, actually... it can't be "you were in" that would be いたらしい. and i dunno why she wouldn't use 撮ったらしい instead. but anyway, if there's nothing in between, anything else would be fairly random.

Then the club thing, and she asks if you go to clubs and stuff.

I would reply erring on the side of caution... tell her if you do go to clubs, and say which ones you like. Say if you were in 尾張旭 or not, and whether you like it. You could also ask if she likes that place, and suggest going some time.

Anyway, it sounds like she is either just making conversation, or that she will invite you along, but a response like that would fulfil either purpose really, so it's fine. If you've misunderstood, it doesn't really matter, she knows you're not japanese, so she'll just be clearer next time.

Last edited by IceCream (2012 March 19, 8:06 am)

cerulean wrote:

They're both literally the negative form of a verb in the form of a question, one being more casual than the other. Is there a difference in the meaning?

nope, they're the same except in terms of formality.

In any case, she's not being as clear as either.  It simply looks like 'do you go to clubs and stuff' ...  I'm not familiar with that being a form of invitation, but it seems an odd question to ask me, especially since I think I answered questions like those awhile back.

maybe she forgot... we're all not as important as we like to think we are, haha

cerulean wrote:

I don't understand that line about the store though. What is あったらしい？

過去形の「ある」+らしい

'seems to have been (at)'.

cerulean wrote:

尾張旭　is the town I live in.

The only photo I can think of is a photo of my little Christmas tree and presents I sent to her once back during the holiday. I'm not even in it.  She shouldn't actually have a picture of me unless she took one of me unaware while she was working (in the Dentist office I met her) but I doubt that.

I don't understand that line about the store though. What is あったらしい？

That's the whole message btw, other than a really short bit where she says how old her dog is.

あった is the past form of ある。らしい means "seems" or "looks like":

尾張旭のお店にあったらしい
"It seems it was in a shop in Owariasahi."

It's not clear what "it" refers to.  I assumed it was your photo.  Maybe that's why she was wondering if you go there to drink:

のみにとか いくの？
"Do you go (there) to drink and stuff?"

It might be a case of mistaken identity.  All this is hearsay from her friend.  It's possible the friend mistook you for someone else.

職場のFriendが****のPhotograph見たって言ってたよ
尾張旭のお店にあったらしい

Might it be 会った? Maybe the work friend saw a photo of you and said they had met you before at "a (club,bar,whatnot) in Owariasahi." Which would lead naturally into the next question about whether you go out drinking.

It's not really phrased as an invitation but I wouldn't discount the possibility that she is giving you an opening to ask her.

Thanks for the help guys.

I replied back directly, basically saying "well, let's go to the club!  Let's drink, and karaoke, and stuff!"

Hah, haven't seen a reply yet.