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HSK 1

坐

to sit; to ride / take (transport)

verbneutral1 episode
坐
zuò4th tone

HSK level

1
2
3
4
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6
Pinyin
zuò
Part of speech
verb
Level
HSK 1
Strokes
7
Register
neutral
In episodes
1

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.

Hear 坐 in real episodes

坐 appears in 1 Fluentide podcast episode at natural native speed — each with the full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.

London Children Called It the Bubble Bus. The Operator Stopped Him Over "Safety Concerns" It Still Will Not Explain.坐 spoken at natural speedbeginner
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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

请坐qǐng zuòplease have a seat
坐下zuò xiàto sit down
坐车zuò chēto take a bus/car
坐飞机zuò fēijīto take a plane
坐一会儿zuò yíhuìrsit for a bit / stay a while

Don't confuse 坐 with

座zuò

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zuò

做 (also zuò, fourth tone) means 'to do / make.' Same pinyin, totally different meaning. 做饭 'cook' vs 坐车 'take a car.'

作zuò

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').

FAQ

Related words from the same episodes

安全safe吹to blow高兴happy公司company孩子child看见to see泡泡bubble上车to board司机driver停to stop知道to know

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