请 (qǐng) is the workhorse of Chinese politeness, and it pulls its weight three different ways. As a politeness marker it sits before a verb and softens it to "please…" — 请坐 "please sit", 请问 "may I ask". As a pivotal verb it means "invite / ask someone to do something" — 请你吃饭, 请他来. And it carries the sense of treating / hosting: when you 请 someone to a meal, you're picking up the bill. Two structural facts shape everything below: 请 always precedes the verb it softens (there is no comma-"please" at the end of a Chinese sentence), and 请 + person + verb builds a pivotal construction where one noun does double duty.
Sense 1: 请 as "please" — before the verb
The politeness use: 请 + V. It fronts a request or an offer and makes it courteous. Fixed favourites: 请坐, 请进, 请问, 请稍等, 请慢用.
请坐，喝点儿什么？
qǐng zuò, hē diǎnr shénme
Have a seat — what would you like to drink? — 请坐 'please sit'.
请问，洗手间在哪儿？
qǐngwèn, xǐshǒujiān zài nǎr
Excuse me, where's the restroom? — 请问 'may I ask', the polite opener.
请稍等，我帮您看一下。
qǐng shāo děng, wǒ bāng nín kàn yíxià
One moment please, let me check for you. (formal) — 请稍等 + honorific 您.
Sense 2: 请 as a pivotal verb — invite / ask someone to
Here 请 takes a person as its object, and that same person is the doer of the next verb: 请 + 人 + V. In 我请你吃饭, 你 is both whom I invite (object of 请) and who eats (subject of 吃饭). This double-duty noun is the pivotal construction.
我们请了一位老师来教书法。
wǒmen qǐng le yí wèi lǎoshī lái jiāo shūfǎ
We invited a teacher to come teach calligraphy. — 请 + 老师 + 来教, pivotal.
他明天想请你去他家玩儿。
tā míngtiān xiǎng qǐng nǐ qù tā jiā wánr
He'd like to invite you over to his place tomorrow. — 请你去…, invitation.
Sense 3: treat / host — 请客
The sense English keeps missing: 请 means you pay. 请客 (qǐngkè) is "stand treat"; 我请你吃饭 is "the meal's on me", not merely "I ask you to eat". Declining or fighting over the bill (我来 / 不不不，我请) is a whole social ritual.
今天我请客，大家随便点。
jīntiān wǒ qǐngkè, dàjiā suíbiàn diǎn
It's my treat today — order whatever you like. — 请客 'stand treat'.
别客气，这顿饭我请。
bié kèqi, zhè dùn fàn wǒ qǐng
Don't be shy — this meal's on me. — bare 我请 'my treat'.
Other high-frequency 请 words
请 anchors a cluster of everyday and formal words: 请假 (qǐngjià) "ask for leave", 请教 (qǐngjiào) "ask for advice (humble)", 申请 (shēnqǐng) "apply for", 邀请 (yāoqǐng) "invite (formal)".
我明天想请一天假。
wǒ míngtiān xiǎng qǐng yì tiān jià
I'd like to take a day off tomorrow. — 请假 'ask for leave', separable: 请一天假.
Key collocations
| Phrase | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 请坐 | qǐng zuò | please sit |
| 请进 | qǐng jìn | please come in |
| 请问 | qǐngwèn | may I ask, excuse me |
| 请稍等 | qǐng shāo děng | please wait a moment |
| 请客 | qǐngkè | treat, stand treat |
| 请假 | qǐngjià | ask for leave |
| 请教 | qǐngjiào | ask for advice (humble) |
| 申请 | shēnqǐng | apply for |
| 邀请 | yāoqǐng | invite (formal) |
Grammar notes: pivotal 请, and 请 vs 让 vs 叫
请 + 人 + V is a pivotal (兼语) construction: the middle noun is object of 请 and subject of the following verb at once. That's the same skeleton as 让 (ràng) "let / make" and 叫 (jiào) "tell / order", but the register differs sharply. 请他来 is a polite invitation (and often you'll host); 叫他来 is a blunt "tell him to come"; 让他来 is neutral "have / let him come". Swapping them changes the social temperature, not just the words. For the wider toolkit of softening requests (请, 麻烦, modal verbs), see requests with 请 / 麻烦.
Common Mistakes
1. Using 请 as a tacked-on, sentence-final "please". English puts "please" anywhere; Chinese 请 must precede the verb.
❌ 给我一杯水，请。
请 can't trail at the end. Front it: 请给我一杯水.
✅ 请给我一杯水。
qǐng gěi wǒ yì bēi shuǐ
Please give me a glass of water.
2. Using 请 to mean "ask a question". "Invite/request" ≠ "ask (a question)". To pose a question, the verb is 问 (or humble 请教).
❌ 我想请你一个问题。
请 is 'invite / request (an action)', not 'ask a question'. Use 问 — or the humble 请教.
✅ 我想问你一个问题。
wǒ xiǎng wèn nǐ yí ge wèntí
I'd like to ask you a question.
3. Getting the pivotal word order wrong. The invited person comes right after 请, before the second verb.
❌ 我请吃饭你。
Word order — the person (你) sits between the two verbs: 我请你吃饭.
✅ 我请你吃饭。
wǒ qǐng nǐ chī fàn
I'll treat you to a meal.
4. Using 请 where the meaning is "make / have someone do". 请 implies a courteous invitation the person would welcome; for being made to do something, use 让 or 叫.
❌ 妈妈请我每天练钢琴。
请 sounds like a polite invitation — odd for a parent's instruction. 'Make / have me practise' is 让我 / 叫我.
✅ 妈妈让我每天练钢琴。
māma ràng wǒ měitiān liàn gāngqín
Mom makes me practise piano every day.
Key Takeaways
- 请 works three ways: "please" marker (请坐, 请问), pivotal "invite / ask sb to" (请你吃饭), and "treat / host" (请客).
- It always precedes its verb — there is no sentence-final "please" in Chinese.
- 请 + 人 + V is a pivotal construction: the person is object of 请 and subject of the next verb.
- 请你吃饭 means you're paying — a genuine offer to host, not just "ask you to eat".
- To ask a question, use 问, not 请; for "make someone do", use 让 / 叫, not 请.
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- 让 (ràng) — let / make / yieldHSK 2 — 让 (ràng) is the everyday causative: 让 + person + verb means 'let / make / have someone do' (让我看看, 老师让我们写作文). It also means 'yield / give way' (让路, 让座) and marks a colloquial passive (让雨淋了 = 被淋了).
- 叫 (jiào) — call / be named / tell to doHSK 1 — 叫 (jiào) is a workhorse: 'be named' (我叫王明), 'call / summon / order' (叫车, 叫外卖), the pivotal 'tell someone to do' (叫我等 = like 让), and 'shout' (大叫). It even works as a colloquial passive marker — but only with a named agent.