Yes-no question refers to question that needs a “Yes” or “No” as answer, like the one below:
“Aren’t you going to the party?”
If you would like to go, you would say, “Yes, I’m going.”
Otherwise, you would probably say “No, I’m not going”.
When such questions are asked in a negative form (i.e “Aren’t you going to the party?” instead of “Are you going to the party?”), the answering techniques would differ between languages.
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Question
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If you are going:
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If you are not going:
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English
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Aren’t you going to the party?
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Yes, I’m going
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No, I’m not going
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Japanese
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パーティーへ行きませんか? (Aren’t you going to the party)
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いいえ,行きます (No, I’m going)
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はい,行きません (Yes, I’m not going)
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In English, Yes or No depends on whether or not you would like to go. Hence if you are going, it's a Yes. If you are not, it's a No.
However, in Japanese language, Yes or No depends on whether the fact/information the other party has given is correct. For example, when the questioner asks “Aren’t you going?” and the fact is that you are going, you would reply a No in order to let the questioner know that he/she is wrong.
Hence it results in the difference when answering a negative yes-no question in Japanese and English.
