Fancy a drink?

FAN-see /ˈfænsi/
Informal Polite

What it really means

"Fancy" means "want" or "feel like". "Fancy a drink?" is a casual invitation to go for a drink, often at the pub. You can fancy anything: "fancy a coffee?", "fancy a walk?". "Fancy someone" means to find them attractive.

Chinese explanation
fancy 意思是"想要、想不想"。Fancy a drink? 是随口约人去喝一杯(常指去酒吧)。什么都可以 fancy:fancy a coffee?(想喝咖啡吗)。注意 fancy someone 是"喜欢上某人"的意思。

Context, tips & common mistakes

'Fancy' here means 'do you want' — 'fancy a drink?', 'fancy a coffee?', 'fancy chips?' are all casual invitations, and 'fancy a drink?' specifically usually proposes the pub. Accepting is easy; declining well is the skill: 'I'll give it a miss tonight, but next time!' refuses the event while accepting the friendship, which is the entire point.

One homograph to manage: 'fancy' also means romantic attraction — 'I think he fancies you' — and the two coexist without much confusion, since 'fancy a drink?' from a colleague at 5pm is a social default, not a declaration. Invitations here are often deliberately low-key; treat the casualness as camouflage, because turning up matters more than the wording suggested.

Example conversation

A: Fancy a drink after the lecture? B: Yeah, go on then. The usual place?
A:下课后想去喝一杯吗? B:好啊,走吧。还是老地方?

What you could say back

“Yeah, why not!”

Related phrases

Official sources

Rules and amounts change — confirm important details with the official source.
All British Slang
Reviewed by the UK Decoded editorial team · Last checked 17 August 2026 · Report a mistake