请 (qǐng) is one word doing three polite jobs at once. Before a bare verb it is simply "please" (请坐 "please sit"). With a person in the middle it is the courteous pivotal "ask / invite someone to" (请他进来 "ask him to come in"). And in the context of food or hospitality it means "treat / host" — the person doing the 请 picks up the bill. All three share a thread of politeness and generosity; you read off which one is meant from the frame around it. Unlike the neutral causatives 让/叫, 请 always adds respect.
请 as "please" (the politeness marker)
Placed directly before a verb, 请 softens it into a polite request or offer. This is the 请 on signs, in announcements, and in service encounters. No person is named — it is aimed at whoever is listening.
请坐，喝点儿茶。
qǐng zuò, hē diǎnr chá
Please, have a seat and some tea. (polite)
请问，洗手间在哪儿？
qǐngwèn, xǐshǒujiān zài nǎr
Excuse me, where's the restroom? (polite)
请大家安静一下。
qǐng dàjiā ānjìng yíxià
Everyone please quiet down for a moment. (neutral/formal)
请 as "ask / invite someone to" (pivotal)
With a person between 请 and the second verb, you get a courteous version of the pivotal pattern: 请 + person + verb = "(politely) ask/invite X to do Y." It is warmer and more deferential than 让 or 叫, so it suits requests to guests, elders, and strangers.
快请他进来。
kuài qǐng tā jìnlai
Hurry, ask him to come in. (neutral)
请你帮我看一下这个。
qǐng nǐ bāng wǒ kàn yíxià zhège
Could you take a look at this for me? (polite request)
我们请了一位专家来做讲座。
wǒmen qǐng le yí wèi zhuānjiā lái zuò jiǎngzuò
We invited an expert to give a lecture. (neutral)
| Use | Frame | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| "please" | 请 + verb | 请坐 | please sit |
| ask / invite | 请 + person + verb | 请他进来 | ask him to come in |
| treat / host | 请 + person (+ 吃/喝…) | 我请你吃饭 | I'll treat you to a meal |
请 as "treat / host" (请客)
When the activity is eating, drinking, or being entertained, 请 carries a built-in "and I'm paying." 请客 (qǐngkè, literally "invite guests") is the set phrase for footing the bill or hosting. This sense is where 请 differs sharply from 叫: 叫你吃饭 merely tells you to eat, while 请你吃饭 means the meal is on me.
今天我请客，你们随便点。
jīntiān wǒ qǐngkè, nǐmen suíbiàn diǎn
I'm treating today — order whatever you like. (informal)
上次是你请的，这次我请。
shàng cì shì nǐ qǐng de, zhè cì wǒ qǐng
You paid last time, so this one's on me. (informal)
周末我想请你吃个饭，聊聊天。
zhōumò wǒ xiǎng qǐng nǐ chī ge fàn, liáoliao tiān
I'd like to take you out for a meal this weekend and catch up. (informal)
Common Mistakes
1. Using 请 for every "please" among close friends. With people you're close to, 请 can sound cold and formal. A softening 一下 or 帮 is warmer for small favors.
❌ 请给我那本书。
To a close friend this sounds stiff and distant.
✅ 帮我拿一下那本书。
bāng wǒ ná yíxià nà běn shū
Grab me that book, would you? — warmer for friends.
2. Using 叫 when you mean "treat." 叫 orders someone to eat; only 请 conveys that you're hosting.
❌ 明天我叫你吃饭。
Means 'I'll tell you to eat' — no treating implied.
✅ 明天我请你吃饭。
míngtiān wǒ qǐng nǐ chī fàn
I'll treat you to a meal tomorrow.
3. Wrong pivot order — verb before the person. The person comes right after 请.
❌ 请进来他。
Word order wrong — the person must follow 请 directly.
✅ 请他进来。
qǐng tā jìnlai
Ask him to come in.
4. Treating 请问 as "please ask him." 请问 only means "may I ask"; to relay a request to someone, spell out the pivotal.
❌ 请问他这个问题。
Reads oddly — 请问 is 'may I ask', not 'please ask him'.
✅ 请你问一下他这个问题。
qǐng nǐ wèn yíxià tā zhège wèntí
Please ask him this question.
Key Takeaways
- 请 does three polite jobs: "please" (请 + verb), "ask/invite someone to" (请 + person + verb), and "treat/host" (请客).
- The three are told apart by the frame; all of them add courtesy that 让/叫 lack.
- 请 X 吃饭 always means the bill is on the inviter — that's the difference from 叫.
- 请问 is lexicalized as "may I ask"; for "please ask him", use the full 请你问一下他.
- Among close friends, an over-used 请 sounds formal — reach for 一下 / 帮…一下 instead.
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- Pivotal Sentences (兼语句)HSK 2 — In a 兼语句 the object of the first verb is at the same time the subject of the second — 我请他来, 老师让我们读课文 — with 请/让/叫/使/派 as the pivotal verbs and no 'to' before the second verb.
- Causatives: 让 / 叫 / 使 (Make, Let, Cause)HSK 3 — 让, 叫 and 使 turn English 'make', 'let', 'have someone do' and 'cause' into one pivotal pattern — 让 is the everyday default, 叫 is colloquial and order-like, and 使 is formal, reserved for causing feelings and states.
- Making Requests: 请/麻烦你/劳驾HSK 2 — Chinese scales the politeness of a request by the OPENER you choose, not by sprinkling 'please' everywhere: 请 (qǐng) fronts a polite imperative, 麻烦你 (máfan nǐ) does the 'sorry to bother you' work, and 劳驾 (láojià) opens a request to a stranger. Pick the opener by social distance and how big the favor is.
- 帮 / 帮助 / 帮忙 (Help)HSK 2 — 'Help' splits three ways in Chinese: 帮 + person + verb (帮我搬桌子), the fuller 帮助 (帮助学生学习), and the separable 帮忙 that already contains its object 忙 and can never take another (帮个忙, never 帮忙我).