坐
to sit; to ride / take (transport)
zuò
What does 坐 mean?
坐 (zuò) is the Chinese verb 'to sit,' but it also covers 'to ride / take' for any seated mode of transport: 坐车 'take a car / bus,' 坐飞机 'fly (lit. sit on an airplane),' 坐火车 'take a train.' Two things differ from English: first, in Chinese you 'sit' a vehicle when you're a passenger — the verb 'take' in 'take the bus' becomes 坐. For driving yourself, use 开 (kāi). Second, when inviting someone to take a seat, Chinese hosts repeat the word: 请坐 'please sit,' often shortened to just 坐. 坐 also appears in fixed expressions: 坐下 'sit down,' 请坐 'please have a seat,' 坐好 'sit properly.' Don't confuse 坐 with 座 (zuò, fourth tone), which is the related NOUN 'seat' (一个座位 'a seat'). The character pictures two people 人 sitting on the ground 土.
Character breakdown
to sit (two 人 people sitting on 土 earth)
Memory hook: Two 人 (people) sitting on 土 (the ground) — the character is a literal picture of sitting.
Example sentences
请坐。
Qǐng zuò.
Please have a seat.
polite
我每天坐车去上班。
Wǒ měitiān zuò chē qù shàng bān.
I take the bus to work every day.
neutral
你坐过飞机吗？
Nǐ zuò guo fēijī ma?
Have you ever flown on a plane?
spoken
我们坐在公园里聊天。
Wǒmen zuò zài gōngyuán lǐ liáotiān.
We sat in the park and chatted.
neutral
Common phrases with 坐
Don't confuse 坐 with
座 (same pinyin and tone) is the noun 'seat / a measure word for large objects like mountains and buildings.' 坐 is the verb 'to sit.' 一个座位 'a seat' uses 座; 坐下 'sit down' uses 坐.
做 (also zuò, fourth tone) means 'to do / make.' Same pinyin, totally different meaning. 做饭 'cook' vs 坐车 'take a car.'
作 also reads zuò and overlaps with 做 in meaning ('to do / act as'); it's more formal and shows up in compounds like 作业 'homework' and 作家 'writer.' Different from 坐 ('sit').