座る
すわる
hepburn suwaru
to sit
Part of speech · godan-verb
Pattern visualization
Examples
- 椅子に座ってください。Please sit on the chair.
- みんな座っています。Everyone is sitting.
Collocations
~に座る (sit on)座って (please sit)座席 (zaseki, seat)正座 (seiza, formal kneeling)座っている (be seated)
Mnemonic
すわる — 座る, Yamato. A godan -ru verb (the look-alike trap — its te-form is 座って and negative 座らない, both godan-style). The clean opposite of 立つ tatsu (stand). The kanji 座 shows two people facing each other under a roof (广) — 'people gathered, seated'. Two cultural modes live inside one verb — 椅子に座る: sitting on a chair ── everyday. 正座 seiza: kneeling formally on tatami ── tea ceremony, shrines, traditional ritual. In a tatami room, the very move from 立つ to 正座 marks the start of a ceremony. The onyomi ざ za builds 'seat / gathering' compounds ── 座席 zaseki (seat), 座談会 zadankai (panel talk), 講座 kouza (lecture course). The Korean reading jwa is sister to the onyomi ざ.
Quick check
What is the negative (~ない) form of 座る?