请
please; to invite
qǐng
What does 请 mean?
请 (qǐng) has two related uses at HSK 1. First, as 'please' — placed before a verb to make a polite request: 请坐 ('please sit'), 请等一下 ('please wait a moment'), 请问 ('may I ask'). Second, as the verb 'to invite / to treat (someone to something)': 我请你吃饭 ('I'll treat you to dinner').
Two things differ from English: first, 请 is not a polite tag added at the end like 'please' — it always goes at the START of the request, before the verb; second, the 'invite / treat' meaning carries the cultural sense of 'I'll pay,' so 我请你 in a restaurant context means 'it's on me.' The character has the 言 (speech) radical, fitting a word centered on polite verbal address.
Note: 请 softens any request and is the basic politeness marker in spoken Chinese. Drop it only with close friends or family — even then it's never wrong to keep it.
Character breakdown
please; to invite; to request
Memory hook: 请 = 言 (speech) + 青 (blue/young) — politely speaking. Always at the front of the sentence in Chinese, never the end.
Example sentences
请坐。
Qǐng zuò.
Please sit.
polite
请问，你叫什么？
Qǐng wèn, nǐ jiào shénme?
May I ask, what's your name?
polite
今天我请你吃饭。
Jīntiān wǒ qǐng nǐ chīfàn.
I'll treat you to dinner today.
spoken
请等一下。
Qǐng děng yíxià.
Please wait a moment.
polite
Common phrases with 请
Synonyms
麻烦 ('to trouble') is another polite opener: 麻烦你… ('could I trouble you to…'). Slightly more apologetic than 请, and acknowledges you're imposing. 请 is more direct politeness.
邀请 specifically means 'to formally invite' (to a wedding, event). 请 in the invite-sense is everyday: 'I'll treat you to dinner.' 邀请 is for formal invitations.
Don't confuse 请 with
FAQ
Acquire by listening
Hear 请 in real Chinese, not in a flashcard.
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