Question
Updated on
24 Sep 2018
- Japanese
-
English (US)
Question about English (US)
When I want to turn down an offer or suggestion like "Do you want to try this food?, can I say that " I'd rather not." "Maybe next time." or "I'll pass."?
And among those phrases, "I'd rather not." is the most formal?
When I want to turn down an offer or suggestion like "Do you want to try this food?, can I say that " I'd rather not." "Maybe next time." or "I'll pass."?
And among those phrases, "I'd rather not." is the most formal?
And among those phrases, "I'd rather not." is the most formal?
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- English (US)
You can use any of those! In my opinion, the most formal would simply be “No, thank you.”
- English (US)
I agree, "No thank you" or "maybe next time" would be the best choices in my opinion.
"I'd rather not" could sound rude, I would not say that.
"I'll pass" is a little bit better, but that could still possibly offend someone.
Highly-rated answerer
- English (US)
'I'd rather not' carries a meaning of 'you don't want to try the food because it has a problem.'
You would use it in this way, 'I'm ordering seafood, would you like some? 'I'd rather not. (if you hate seafood). Same goes with 'I'll pass'
So you could use, 'No, thank you.'/ 'I'm fine, thank you.'/No, thank you. I just ate.
Those sound more polite and wouldn't hurt the person as much.
Highly-rated answerer
- Japanese
Thank you for telling me lots of useful information!
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