52 - Indecisive Power Phrases

Sometimes, my less-gracious friends and family have called me...

✓ flaky
✓ indecisive
✓ noncommittal

What can I say? I hate plans.

Few things sound more stressful to me than a full calendar.

Freedom, please!

But there are times, when, well, decisions must be made, yeah?

Like choosing...
- what to eat for dinner.
- whether we'll go to a club after this bar.
- whether we'll suddenly go hiking today or not.
- whether we should get ice cream like ASAP.

Decisions like these I can generally handle. In Japanese, no less.

Key phrases, スタート！

What should we do?!

In my handful of worldwide travel experiences, I have found the following to be generally true:

Everyone is worried about what's for lunch. Or dinner. Or even breakfast, sometimes.

So your friend / lover / crush / coworker says to you:

夜ご飯どうする？
yorugohan dou suru?
What should we do for dinner? // What do you want to do for dinner?
(Literally: "dinner + how + do?")

This formula is mega-useful, by the way:

NOUN + どうする？
NOUN + dou suru?
What should we do for NOUN? // What do you want to do for NOUN?

Examples:

このあとどうする？
kono ato dou suru?
What do you wanna do after this? // What should we do after this?
(Literally: "after this + how + do?")

(Note: For example, when deciding what to do with one or more friends after dinner [and you're currently at dinner when you say this].)

明日どうする？
ashita dou suru?
What do you wanna do tomorrow? // What should we do tomorrow?
(Literally: "tomorrow + how + do?")

週末どうする？
shuumatsu dou suru?
What do you wanna do this weekend? // What should we do this weekend?
(Literally: "weekend + how + do?")

You'll notice that in the sentences so far, our NOUN is always a time marker. However, we can use other nouns, too, and when we do the translation will start to get a little more flexible, depending on the context:

飲み会どうする？
nomikai dou suru?
When should we have the (drinking) party? // Do you wanna go to that (drinking) party, then? // Who should we invite to the (drinking) party? // What type of place should we choose for the (drinking) party? // Where should we have the (drinking) party? // What should we do for the (drinking) party?
(Literally: "[drinking] party + how + do?")

(Note: Sorry for getting a little crazy with translations there. The reason is that the meaning of this sentence will depend on the context. This just goes to show how versatile [and simplistic] casual Japanese can be.)

Some important things to note about どうする？

#1 - This is only for things that the speaker and listener will do together.

So if we're definitely hanging out this weekend, then I can ask 週末どうする？ (shuumatsu dou suru; What should we do this weekend?), but if I'm just asking you what you're up to this weekend, I would use 何 (nani; what) NOT どう (dou;how):

週末何する？
shuumatsu nani suru?
What are you up to this weekend? // What are you doing this weekend?

#2 - You will sometimes hear the super-polite version of どうする？

If you're at a restaurant or shop or something, a staff member won't say する for this question, because that's too casual. They won't even say します. Rather, they'll use the honorific form of します, which is なさいます...

今日はどうなさいますか。
kyou wa dou nasaimasu ka
So how would you like it?
(Literally: "today + は + how + do + か.")
(Note: A hairdresser could say this to a client before cutting their hair, for example.)

With that, let's look at some answer options...

Answer Option #1 - NOUN + にしよう

If you're feeling particularly decisive, then you can say one of these two options:

#1-A: VOLITIONAL VERB (e.g. 行こう [ikou; let's go])
#1-B: NOUN + にしよう

Examples explain better than I do...

A:

夜ご飯どうする？
yorugohan dou suru?
What should we do for dinner? // What do you want to do for dinner?

B:

焼肉にしよう。
yakiniku ni shiyou
Let's get yakiniku.
(Literally: "yakiniku + に + let's do.")

A:

このあとどうする？
kono ato dou suru?
What do you wanna do after this? // What should we do after this?

B:

帰ろう。
kaerou.
Let's go home. // Let's call it a night.
(Literally: "let's go home.")
(Note: A and B may or may not live together.)

A:

明日どうする？
ashita dou suru?
What do you wanna do tomorrow? // What should we do tomorrow?

B:

やっぱりやめよう。
yappari yameyou.
Yeah, let's not go, after all. // Yeah, let's not do (that thing), after all.
(Literally: "on second thought + let's quit.")
(Note: The nuance is that A and B were previously planning to do something tomorrow, but B doesn't think they should anymore.)

A:

週末どうする？
shuumatsu dou suru?
What do you wanna do this weekend? // What should we do this weekend?

B:

飲みに行こう。
nomi ni ikou.
Let's go out.
(Literally: "drink + に + let's go.")
(Note: Actually, this means "Let's go drinking," but I think that sounds a bit more intense in English.)

A:

飲み会どうする？
nomikai dou suru?
When should we have the (drinking) party?

B:

金曜日にしよう。
kinyoubi ni shiyou.
Let's have it on Friday.
(Literally: "Friday + に + let's do.")

A:

飲み会どうする？
nomikai dou suru?
Where should we have the (drinking) party?

B:

あの安いとこ行こうよ。
ano yasui toko ikou yo.
Let's go to that cheap place.
(Literally: "that + cheap + place + let's go + よ.")
(Note: Adding よ onto the end just sounds like you really want to go there.)

Answer Option #2 - どうしようか

I'm personally quite fond of this answer, because it's a total cop-out.

By saying どうしようか (dou shiyou ka; Hmm... what should we do...?), the nuance is that you're thinking of what would be the best course of action. But if you leave a long enough pause after saying it, Person A will often just answer their own question for you.

Indecisive Counterattack!

A:

夜ご飯どうする？
yorugohan dou suru?
What should we do for dinner? // What do you want to do for dinner?