どうですか details
how is …?; how about …? — puts a noun up for judgment
新しい職場はどうですか。
atarashii shokuba wa dou desu ka.
How's the new workplace? neutral
疲れたでしょう。冷たいお茶はどうですか。
tsukareta deshou. tsumetai ocha wa dou desu ka.
You must be tired. How about some cold tea? neutral
- colloquial
- formal
- past
Examples
how is N? — asks the listener for an impression or a report on something already in play
新しい職場はどうですか。
atarashii shokuba wa dou desu ka.
How's the new workplace? neutral
具合はどう？もう熱下がった？
guai wa dou? mou netsu sagatta?
How are you feeling? Has the fever come down yet? casual
how about N? — offers a thing or floats an option for the listener to accept or refuse
疲れたでしょう。冷たいお茶はどうですか。
tsukareta deshou. tsumetai ocha wa dou desu ka.
You must be tired. How about some cold tea? neutral
窓側のお席はいかがですか。
madogawa no o seki wa ikaga desu ka.
Would a window seat suit you? formal
Formation
{N}はどうですかattaches to noun
Variant notes
- はどう — plain style, spoken — 新しいバイトはどう？
- はいかがですか — the register step up, standard when serving a customer or addressing a superior — お飲み物はいかがですか.
Notes
×どう安いですか. Ask どのくらい安いですか instead. は belongs to
the noun, not to どうですか — an offer often swaps it for でも
(コーヒーでもどうですか).
Related patterns
Similar
ませんか invites the listener into an action the speaker will share and names that action outright (一緒に行きませんか); はどうですか names only the thing and leaves the action unsaid, which is why it also works as a plain request for an opinion.
Lookalikes
たらどうですか proposes an ACTION for the listener and, said to a peer, edges into pressure (早く謝ったらどうですか); はどうですか puts a NOUN forward and asks for a judgment, so it stays neutral however it is answered.