坐
to sit; to ride / take (transport)
HSK level
- Pinyin
- zuò
- Part of speech
- verb
- Level
- HSK 1
- Strokes
- 7
- Register
- neutral
- In episodes
- 3
Stroke order for 坐
坐 is written with 7 strokes. The animation replays automatically.
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.
Memory hook: Two 人 (people) sitting on 土 (the ground) — the character is a literal picture of sitting.
Hear 坐 in real episodes
坐 appears in 3 Fluentide podcast episodes at natural native speed. Each sentence plays at the easiest difficulty it exists in — switch it to hear the same moment at your level, with full pinyin and English throughout.
坐飞机的人，都很怕。
The passengers were all terrified.
A FlyDubai Co-Pilot Attacked His Captain With the Cockpit's Own Axe. Passengers Broke In and Saved the Plane.
你学习的时候，能不能一直坐在那里？
When you study, can you keep sitting there the whole time?
ADHD May Not Be a Problem of 'Attention' at All
公司想：有一天，人可以坐星舰去月亮。
The company thinks: one day, people could ride Starship to the moon.
Starship Reaches Orbit for the First Time, Deploys 26 Starlink Satellites — Then Comes Home Early
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.
Frequently asked questions
Related words from the same episodes
Acquire it by listening
Meet 坐 again — in real Chinese, at your level.
You just saw 坐 in 3 episodes. Fluentide keeps feeding you news episodes at your level, so this word — and thousands like it — resurface in real sentences until they stick. Full pinyin and translation every time. Free to start.