Learn Hardcore Chinese: qǐng nǐ zuòxià ba.

请qǐng　你nǐ　坐下zuòxià　吧ba。qǐng nǐ zuòxià ba.

Please sit down.

Breakdown of qǐng nǐ zuòxià ba.

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Questions & Answers about qǐng nǐ zuòxià ba.

What exactly does 请 (qǐng) do in this sentence? Is it just “please”?

请 here is a polite marker, similar to “please” in English, but its usage is a bit more structured:

Pattern: 请 + someone + do something
- 请你坐下吧。 – Please (you) sit down.
- 请大家安静。 – Everyone, please be quiet.

It softens the command and makes it sound like a courteous invitation or request, not an order.

Note that 请 can also mean “to invite” in other contexts (e.g. 请你吃饭 – invite you to a meal), but in 请你坐下吧 it works as “please.”

Is 你 (nǐ) necessary here? Can I just say 请坐下吧 or 请坐?

You can omit 你, and all of these are correct:

请你坐下吧。 – Very clear who you’re talking to; sounds polite and slightly direct.
请坐下吧。 – Polite, directed at the listener(s), but without explicitly saying “you.”
请坐。 – Very common, especially to guests; short and polite.

In Chinese, subjects are often dropped when obvious from context, so 你 isn’t required.
Adding 你:

Makes the addressee explicit (e.g. distinguishing one person from others).
Can feel a bit more direct, which is fine in many situations but might sound slightly too pointed in very formal or distant contexts.

Why is it 坐下 (zuòxia) and not just 坐 (zuò)? What does 下 add?

坐 by itself means “to sit / be sitting.”
坐下 literally means “sit down” (the action of moving from standing to sitting).

坐 – state of sitting or the general action “to sit.”
坐下 – the act of going down into a sitting position (more like English “sit down”).

In this sentence, you’re telling someone to perform the action of sitting down, so 坐下 is natural.

Sometimes you will also see:

请坐。 – Please sit (down). (common fixed phrase; “down” is understood)
坐吧。 – Go ahead and sit. (with a softening particle, but no 下)

So 下 emphasizes the change of position, but because 请坐 is a very common fixed expression, native speakers don’t feel anything missing there.

Is 下 in 坐下 a separate word or part of one verb? How should I think about it?

Grammatically, 坐下 is a verb + directional/resultative complement:

坐 – the main verb (“sit”)
下 – indicates the direction “down” or completion of the action

Over time, combinations like this become very fixed and are often treated as a single unit in dictionaries and teaching materials. For learning purposes, it’s useful to think:

坐下 = one compound verb meaning “sit down.”

You’ll see many similar patterns:

站起来 – stand up
写下 – write down
放下 – put down / set down

What does the sentence-final particle 吧 (ba) do here? How would the meaning change without it?

吧 is a sentence-final particle that softens the tone. In this sentence, it turns a direct command into a gentle suggestion or polite invitation.

Compare:

请你坐下。 – Polite, but sounds like a straightforward instruction.
请你坐下吧。 – Polite and softer, like “Why don’t you have a seat?” or “Go ahead and sit down.”

So here 吧:

Reduces the sense of strictness or authority.
Makes the speaker sound more considerate and less bossy.

If you remove 吧, it’s still polite (because of 请), but slightly more formal or instructional in tone.

Is this sentence formal, informal, or both? Who would typically say 请你坐下吧 to whom?

请你坐下吧 is polite and fairly neutral, so it’s widely usable:

To a guest coming into your home or office.
By a teacher to a student, in a kindly tone.
By a host / receptionist to visitors.
Among friends, if you want to sound extra polite or considerate.

Variants and feel:

请坐。 – Very common to guests; short, polite, slightly more formal.
坐吧。 – More casual, friendly, or used when you already know the person.
坐下！ – Direct command; can sound like an order (e.g. from a strict teacher or in a tense situation).

So 请你坐下吧 is polite but not stiff; it’s safe in most everyday and semi-formal situations.

Can I say 你请坐下吧 instead? What’s the correct word order with 请?

The natural pattern is:

请 + person + action
→ 请你坐下吧。

Putting 你 before 请 like 你请坐下吧 is not natural; it sounds ungrammatical.

Correct patterns:

请你坐下吧。
请大家坐下。
请各位先坐下。

You can also move 请 to the very front of a longer sentence, but it still comes before the person and the verb phrase it’s modifying.

How should I actually pronounce this sentence with tones? Are there any tone changes?

Base tones (dictionary form):

请 qǐng (3rd)
你 nǐ (3rd)
坐 zuò (4th)
下 xià (4th)
吧 ba (neutral)

Tone sandhi and natural speech:

请你 – two third tones in a row
→ The first 3rd tone becomes a 2nd tone in speech:
- Pronounced: qíng nǐ (2nd + 3rd)
In 坐下, 下 is often pronounced with a neutral tone in everyday speech:
- Pronounced: zuòxia (4th + neutral)

So the whole sentence naturally sounds like:

qíng nǐ zuòxia ba

Tones: 2 – 3 – 4 – (neutral) – (neutral)

Are there other common ways to say “please sit down” in Chinese? How do they differ from 请你坐下吧?

Yes, several very common alternatives, with slightly different nuance:

请坐。
- Very common, especially to guests or in formal settings.
- Short, polite, slightly more formal and “set phrase”-like.
请坐下。
- Similar to 请坐, but explicitly includes “down.”
- Still polite and fairly neutral; a bit more descriptive.
坐吧。
- More casual, friendly.
- Often used when you already know the person or the context is relaxed.
你坐吧。
- Casual, slightly more direct, but still softened by 吧.
请坐一下。
- Literally “please sit for a moment”; can sound mild and courteous.

请你坐下吧 sits in the middle: polite, clear, and slightly more personal because of 你, and softened by 吧.

Could this sentence ever sound rude or too strong?

Because it has 请 and 吧, 请你坐下吧 is generally not rude. However, tone of voice and context matter:

Said with a gentle tone → sounds polite and considerate.
Said with a sharp or impatient tone (e.g. interrupting someone) → can feel like “Just sit down already,” even though the words themselves are polite.

If you want an even more neutral or host-like politeness, 请坐 is extremely safe and common.