kochira ni suwatte mo yoroshii desu ka.

to be

Breakdown of kochira ni suwatte mo yoroshii desu ka.

• か: question particle
• に: location particle
• 〜て: connective form

Questions & Answers about kochira ni suwatte mo yoroshii desu ka.

What does こちら mean here, and how is it different from ここ?

In this sentence, こちら means here / this place.

It is more polite than ここ.

• ここ = here
• こちら = this way / here / this place (more polite)

So:

• ここに座ってもいいですか。 = Can I sit here?
• こちらに座ってもよろしいですか。 = May I sit here? / Would it be alright if I sat here?

In many situations, こちら sounds softer and more respectful.

Why is there a に after こちら?

The particle に marks the place where the action results in being located.

With 座る (to sit), Japanese often uses place + に + 座る:

• いすに座る = sit on a chair
• そこに座る = sit there
• こちらに座る = sit here

So こちらに means in this spot / here as the location where the speaker wants to sit.

Why is 座って used instead of 座る?

座って is the て-form of 座る.

The pattern in this sentence is:

て-form + も + よろしいですか

This pattern means:

Would it be alright if I ...?
or
May I ...?

So:

• 座る = to sit
• 座ってもよろしいですか = May I sit?

You cannot use 座るもよろしいですか here. The grammar requires the て-form.