About
The character "坐", meaning "to sit", is a conceptually simple pictograph that has retained its core structure and meaning from its earliest forms. Its traditional composition, still used today, visually represents two figures (人) positioned on either side of a representation of the earth or ground (土), effectively illustrating the act of people sitting upon the earth. This structure directly informs its primary verb sense, which originally conveyed the specific posture of sitting on the ground or a mat, as was customary in ancient times. Over centuries, its usage naturally broadened beyond the literal physical posture to encompass more abstract applications, such as indicating a location where something is situated or resting, as in "坐落" (to be located), or even extending to denote the cause or basis of an event, as seen in classical phrases like "坐此解职" (to be dismissed from office for this reason). While its graphical form has seen some stylistic streamlining, the fundamental ideographic idea of figures associated with the ground remains clearly recognizable.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
请你坐下休息。
我坐在椅子上。
他坐公交车上学。
明天我们坐火车旅行。
她坐飞机来北京看我。
老人坐在沙发上看报纸。
我们坐等比赛结果。
同学们坐在一起讨论问题。